False Pretenses
by grissomsbutterfly1013
Summary: Grissom and Sara are forced to work undercover in Miami. Will Grissom be overcome by his mysterious past and hurt the one person he truly loves?
1. Chapter 1: The Assignment

**A/N:** Special thanks to **Mel** (AKA: Unspoken) for all her help with the subplot! Without you I would still be stuck in the brainstorming stage. Thanks as well to **Lost November** for all your encouragement! Alas, a BIG bow goes down to my beta **Cybrokat**, you're the best! As well I would like to just mention that this story was written before I have viewed Season 6. (For future reference)

**False Pretenses**

**Chapter One**

_The Assignment_

"Thanks for coming in so soon Gil…I wouldn't have dragged you out of bed for this one but I knew you'd come quick once you heard about the condition of the DB…" Brass stared at Grissom, and both men exchanged no more then several glances before the Captain ushered the supervisor into the home. The house was a typical, well maintained family home in the suburbs of Las Vegas. Several family portraits clung to the walls of the living room; all must be painting a false picture of their lives.

"The husband, Tony Merchant, along with his two kids, Ronnie and Sandra, are MIA…The body is that of Marie Merchant who has been hospitalized in the past two years for signs of abuse. No charges have ever been filed against the husband. I don't know about you Gil, but I really want to get my hands on this dead beat dad to ask him a few questions of my own…" Brass' voice began to drift off as Grissom continued to stare at the body lying on the floor. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. Her long blonde hair strung across her face, hiding her almost perfect complexion which was tainted by several gashes on her forehead. Her slender figure seemed to be twisted on the floor in a position which looked both painful and inhuman.

Grissom struggled to remain focused on processing the body; however his suppressed memories were starting to seep out of his carefully guarded mind.

"_Stop it Walter! Gil is right here, you could hurt him…" Grissom's mother fought to move away from her husband's grasp, but his grip grew tighter with his rage._

"_Tell me now where you were last night! You were cheating on me huh? I thought you knew better then to mess with me." His statement was punctuated with several rough punches to his wife's face, leaving her lifeless on the ground. "Why am I with you anyways? You're going deaf…Soon you won't even be able to hear me call you a bitch."_

"_Stop it…" Grissom spoke up, although he shouldn't have bothered. He was only five and could not even begin to fight his large, muscular father no more than his mother could._

"_What? Stop what? You think I'm doin' something wrong by hitting your mother?" His laughter started to make tears form in the young boy's eyes. "You just wait and see kid, you're gonna end up just like me. Women are bitches and the only way to tame a bitch is to hit them, just like a bad dog…Get me a beer." _

His father was right.

Grissom tried to forget about his past, to move on and stay away from getting too close to anyone. Never did he want his demons to be unleashed once more, hurting another one he had loved. Marie Merchant was subjected to the same monster which lived inside his abusive father and ultimately hidden within Grissom's soul. Never would he open up to another again, he needed to stay a ghost, to stay hidden forever.

All he could do was walk away. He needed to be off of this case, God knows it's open and shut. The husband did it. In this rare occasion, he didn't need any evidence to speak for him, he had his own sources.

Catherine was careful not to enter Grissom's office too fast; she didn't want to disturb him as he had his signature look of "deep thought" painted across his face. A light tap on the doorframe was all it took for Grissom to snap out of his dangerous thoughts.

"Umm… I thought you'd like to know that it was indeed Tony Merchant who was responsible for Marie's death. We found him at a downtown Vegas hotel hitting on one of the Keno girls while his children were locked in the closet of his hotel. He confessed to everything, including several other instances of abuse on numerous girlfriends he had in the past. He told us way more then we needed to know." Catherine brushed back a golden strand of hair which threatened to fall into her eye. She knew something was troubling her former boss and could only speculate as to what the matter could be surrounding it.

"You alright?" she carefully queried while taking a seat in front of the troubled CSI.

"I'm fine…" Grissom was a poor liar; his emotions could never be hidden in his navy blue eyes. After all, the eyes are the window to one's soul. Grissom should know better.

"You know if you ever need to talk about anything I'm right here…Just because I'm not under your command doesn't mean I still can't play therapist you know."

Grissom let a faint smile cross on his lips.

"Really, I'm fine…And I'm glad to hear that he was caught."

"You wanna go out for a drink…Or dinner? Anything to get your mind off of this?"

The thought of going out to dinner made Grissom chuckle. It seemed as if he had gone to dinner with every member of the CSI staff. Except Sara. There was a reason for his distance. There was a reason for his expressionless stares. She couldn't get close, he wouldn't let her. Before he could attempt to answer Catherine's request, Judy knocked on the door letting herself in.

"Um, Dr. Grissom, a Mr. Culpepper is here to speak with you…He says it's urgent and for 'your ears only'…"

The roll of Grissom's eyes was enough to tell Catherine that Grissom was indeed not happy to reunite with the arrogant, self centered FBI agent. Reluctantly, the supervisor lifted himself up from his seat and followed Judy down the hall to the staff room. Grissom immediately noted that the blinds were down and the door was locked. Judy tapped on the door and quickly walked away before the Special Agent could answer. Grissom loathed Culpepper with a passion since their first and only meeting four years ago during the "Strip Strangler Case". Culpepper first annoyed Grissom by taking charge of his investigation, trying to leave the lead CSI out of the loop. Second and most important, he put Sara in danger by using her as bait in trying to catch a vicious serial killer.

_This meeting is not going to be a pleasant one that's for sure._

The grin on Culpepper's face was enough to make him cringe. Never had a man's smile produced such annoyance for Grissom. He had hoped to forget the agent in time. It seemed like every time he tried to forget an event of his past, something occurred to force his memories back up to the surface of his mind.

"Supervisor Grissom, I trust you remember who I am?" Culpepper held out a hand which Grissom slowly met with his. A handshake was as far as he would go to be humble.

"Yes, how could I forget?" Grissom exclaimed, not trying to hide his sarcasm. "May I ask what has transpired to bring you back to our lab, Agent Culpepper?"

"Uh, that's Special Agent Culpepper...Well Mr. Grissom, I have to admit, the Bureau was impressed with the way the lab participated in my investigation in catching the strangler. We need your assistance once more and our team has two of your CSI's ready to jump on a plane to Miami. I just wanted to give you the heads up before you started to wonder where some of your lab rats wandered off to…" Culpepper gave Grissom another one of his signature smiles before lying out several photos on the table in front of him. "Before you say anything Grissom, this case is huge. A serial killer living in the suburbs of Miami has stalked, tortured, raped and eventually killed twenty women all living within a twenty mile radius. Here's the sick part. All of his victims are killed by hanging them from the ceiling, execution style." The agent let the CSI look over the photos, allowing for his information to sink in.

"I can understand the urgency to catch the assailant, but why take two of my CSI's? Doesn't Miami have an established crime lab already?"

"Yeah, in a matter of speaking. They're just too swamped right now and I just can't stand Horatio Caine. Besides, you guys are more accredited. And… You're not as busy as they are at the moment." Culpepper let out another laugh as Grissom's familiar worried expression crossed his face. "I hope you don't mind but I have taken the liberty of clearing CSI Sanders' and CSI Sara Sidle's schedule for the next two weeks."

Grissom couldn't contain his annoyance any longer.

"Excuse me?" He couldn't believe his ears. Not only did Grissom specifically not want Sara to be involved in any undercover operation, but Greg was just too inexperienced to provide any valuable insight to the case.

"Yes, we need them to pose as a married couple living in the Miami suburbs. They're a perfect fit, they're chemistry is wonderful as they have been working together on several cases and my team feels that they have a strong bond. But hey, after having to shower with one another in such frantic circumstances, they could have a strong bond with Marylyn Manson if he was present." The agent's attempt at humor failed as Grissom tried to keep his anger in check. Was it anger or was it jealous? Grissom couldn't tell and didn't want to contemplate long enough to find out.

"Absolutely not…" It was all that he could mutter under the depths of his green rage. The thought of Greg and Sara having to act as a married couple made Grissom's stomach turn. That's all he needed was for Sara to live with the one guy who couldn't wait to jump into bed with her.

"And why is that?" Culpepper's grin quickly faded when he realized that the CSI had not changed over the years.

"First, Greg Sanders is a level one CSI with a minute amount of experience within the field, let alone within undercover operations of this complexity. Secondly, he has an array of feelings for Sara which are far from a professional nature." Grissom ended his statement with an arched eyebrow, hoping that his observations would help change the agent's mind. In the long run, he didn't care who Culpepper wanted in the field as long as it was not Greg.

"Fine then Supervisor Grissom, who may you suggest to accompany Ms. Sidle on this mission?" Culpepper patiently waited for Grissom's response.

Grissom's heart felt as if it were to burst from his chest. Although, on the surface he appeared to be as cool as a cucumber, inside he was trying to hold back the urge to run away. He had definitely painted himself into a corner and it was his own fault.

"Me…" Grissom noted the amused expression on Culpepper's face which added to his annoyance.

"I don't mean to insult you, but aren't you a little old to pose as young Sidle's husband? I mean sure she's a catch and hell, I'd love to go 'undercover' with her too if you know what I mean…But, this operation has to be believable, not a charade."

That's all it took. Grissom had lost his patience.

"Listen here Culpepper; you don't know anything about Sara or myself so I would not make assumptions without knowing the facts. We have an established relationship which goes beyond just friendship..." His face began to turn a bright red when he realized that Sara was leaning against the doorframe looking about as shocked as he was.

Before Culpepper could comment Sara saved Grissom from utter humiliation.

"You know what he's talking about…After working a few years together we know each other fairly well. And, he's a more suitable choice. I have no objections, do you Special Agent Culpepper?" Sara had to try to bite back a giggle when she saw Grissom's face. His mouth was wide open and eyes were huge. It looked as if he had seen a ghost fly across the room, not believing his eyes enough to close them, to relish in the moment of obscurity.

"That's fine Ms. Sidle, you two will pack immediately and stay at the Kumata Inn, the closest facility next to the airport. As soon as you settle in you will be briefed on your mission and you will board a plane at eight A.M. sharp the next morning. Any questions?" Without a sound from either CSI, Culpepper abruptly left the room leaving the two co-workers in a rather awkward situation.

"I guess we better pack then huh?" Sara noted, still waiting for Grissom's tomato red face to fade down.

"Uh…Yeah…Right." Without saying another word Grissom left the staffroom, leaving Sara wondering if he would ever get over his embarrassment.

_He just always knows when to leave an awkward situation…Or maybe it's me…Am I that repulsive? _

Sara tried to shrug off any negative thoughts before shutting the door and walking away, nervously thinking about the mission she agreed to take on. The thought of pretending to be married to Grissom gave the young CSI shivers. For more then five years she had been attracted to her boss, and for more then five years he had lead her on to believe that a relationship may be possible. She was starting to wonder if her adolescent-like crush could even become a reality with the rate Grissom was going.

_Why can't he just let it out? His feelings are always so closely guarded...What is he hiding from?_

Sara unlocked her car and twisted her keys into the ignition. The further she drove away from the lab, the more she began to wonder if the mission was a mistake.


	2. Chapter 2: Losing Control

**Chapter 2**

_Losing Control_

Sara was greatly surprised at the means of transportation from her apartment to the airport. The lab would never dive into their precious funds and arrange for a stretch limo to glide her away in. The Federal Bureau of Investigation did have more money and resources then CSI and she could only hope that her boarding accommodations in Miami would be as luxurious. Sara had scenarios running through her mind of pulling up to a run down shack on the side of a swamp where every neighbor had a male family member referred to as "Bubba". The image gave the young CSI the "willies" before the limo came to a halt outside Grissom's townhouse. Grissom looked slightly agitated when he climbed into the limo, sitting far away from his partner as possible. The action had left Sara furious and depressed at the same time.

_All right, I'm guessing I did something to piss him off again…_

"Um, Grissom…I know it's a big vehicle and there is plenty of room, but do you have to sit that far away?" Sara held her breath waiting for Grissom to answer. When nothing was said she started to feel her anger building once more.

"Sara…" Grissom stated under his breath. "I personally think this is a bad idea…" Even though Grissom sat in a seat in front of Sara she swore she could see the stress lines forming on his forehead. She knew that if they were to pull this endeavor off, he had to open up to her.

"Really…What's bothering you? What did I do?"

"Nothing…I just don't want to talk right now and we have a long debriefing ahead of us." One of his hands rubbed his forehead, trying to get rid of his daunting headache that just would not go away. This mission already began to bother the lead CSI to the highest degree. Even though he would have been more stressed if Greg had taken his place, he still was not entirely comfortable of the idea of having to be "married" to Sara.

_"You're not really going to be married to her… You do know that…Yah, but that still breaks a promise I made thirty years ago. I was never to get emotionally involved with a woman… And now it looks as if I'm about to break a promise that I was starting to believe would be kept…Forever." _

Grissom was lost in his thoughts for a good half an hour until the limo came to an abrupt halt outside the Kumata Inn. From the outside, the hotel had a Mexican feel to it with terracotta stones and cacti lining its exterior. The soft hum of dance music lined the air as the two CSI's approached the check-in clerk. A young woman within her thirties was giving herself a manicure before Grissom impatiently tapped on the marble desk to get her attention. The clerk responded by tossing her fluffy blonde hair into a rather messy bun before allowing her blue eyes to look up at the Supervisor in recognition.

"Name please…" The clerk muttered under her breath while her hands rested on the keyboard in front of her ready to pull up a reservation.

"Grissom and Sidle…" Grissom nervously scratched his beard waiting for the young worker to hand them their keys so they could move on to the quiet, solitude of their rooms. He desperately needed some privacy to contemplate on the days he had ahead of him and being around Sara was not helping his thought process. Her perfume swirled around him every time she stepped a foot forward as she looked at various pieces of art which hung from the walls. The scenery was the least on his mind at the moment.

_"I need to get away from her..."_ Grissom thought.

"Umm…I have only one reservation…Under a Mr. and Mrs. Grissom?"

Sara's attention was immediately diverted from the art to the concierge worker as she quickly began to fight utter panic. Grissom's reaction was no different, and the color quickly drained from his face.

"There has to be some sort of mistake…I was told that my colleague and I would have separate rooms. Would you be able to place us in different suites please…?" Grissom's heart rate began to slow down as he realized that the error could be easily fixed.

"Sorry Mr. Grissom but all the rooms are filled due to the 'Plushy and Furry Convention' going on this weekend. Someone called in earlier and said that one room would be fine because it was the start of your honeymoon. He said you're going to Miami to celebrate tomorrow. Congratulations, sir."

Grissom was not amused; Culpepper purposely wanted Sara and himself in one room either to practice at being together as a couple or to simply annoy him. Regardless, he had to be professional in every respect.

"I suppose that will be fine then." Grissom picked up the keys from the desk and started to make his way to the nearest elevator, not turning around or saying one word to Sara about the matter. The silence only infuriated her further. The elevator ride up to their "suite" was as painful as going to the dentist as the two CSI's relished in their silence not wanting to breech the subject of their sleeping arrangements.

As the ding of the elevator echoed inside the small metal shaft, Sara walked as fast as she could away from the silence which fueled her anger. Grissom took his time walking down the hallway, never looking up at Sara as he swiped his card gaining access to the room. Their suite was indeed luxurious, equipped with a crystal chandelier, silk sheets, a flat screen television and a large King size bed in the middle of the room. The romantic dark red hue lined the walls of the "honeymoon" suite and started to make Grissom believe that he should in fact sleep in the hallway as a last resort.

"_Just sleep on the floor…She'll sleep on the bed. It's just one night, then we have a whole house full of separate rooms in Miami_." Grissom thought.

Sara's thoughts were far from worrying about their sleeping arrangements. She was trying to figure out how she was going to stand being around Grissom for more then one minute let alone the rest of the night. Eventually, she finally decided to break the silence.

"Grissom, what exactly did I do to piss you off this time?" Sara bitterly blurted out. She watched in anger as Grissom took his time contemplating the question.

"What?"

"Come on…Don't do this to me. If we're going to have to be together until this killer is caught don't you think we should work on our communication?" Sara crossed her arms and waited once more for her supervisor to answer.

"Listen…Sara...Whatever I did, I'm sorry." Grissom's apology didn't seem to calm down Sara's nerves.

"Grissom, you're going to have to do a lot better then that. You've avoided me for two years ever since I asked you to dinner….I guess I've moved on. Believe me when I say that I'm over you, you're the last man I want to spend time with. I just want this all to be over so we can go back to avoiding each other." Sara began to regret her words as Grissom choked back any emotion which would leave him feeling vulnerable.

"Sara… I'm going to take a guess and say you're anger has clouded your judgment." Grissom's voice was no longer gentle and low, it was beginning to take on an edginess that slightly frightened Sara.

"Whatever you think Grissom." Just as Sara was about to walk away, Grissom forcefully grabbed Sara by her arm.

"We're not finished." Grissom yelled. His face displayed his anger to the truest of its color; the blood rushing to his face made him to appear fiercer then normal.

"Grissom…You're scaring me."

The fear in Sara's eyes said it all, he lost control. Genetics was a bitch. He dropped Sara's arm as fast as he could and walked to the other side of the room, gaining distance in order to cool off. Regret filled his heart as he watched Sara stroke her arm in fear.

"_This is why you'll never have her, or anyone else. You can't risk it. Say something to make her hate you- something she won't forgive you for…Then, the rest of the assignment will be pure business, no pleasure." _ Grissom's mind had the perfect solution to end the relationship, however his heart ruled last.

"Sara…I'm going to just get Greg to take my place. This was a bad idea and I'm sorry for interfering. And…What am I saying? I have no excuse for what I did…There are things about me you don't know. Things that I'm not proud of…You're right, we can't be together and I'm glad you've moved on. You're safer without me around…"

"Yeah I think I am…" Sara ended her statement by lying down on the bed. Grissom watched in sadness as she turned off the light and went under the covers without another word.


	3. Chapter 3: Unlikely Coincidences

Chapter 3

_Unlikely Coincidences _

Half way through the night a noise startled Sara. Panicking as she did not see Grissom anywhere in sight, she turned on the light as fast as she could manage. She was saddened to find Grissom curled up on the hardwood floor of their hotel room without a blanket or a pillow. Sara didn't know whether to flick off the light and forget about aiding to Grissom's comfort or offer him a spot on the bed and prevent any morning back pain.

"_What am I thinking? He was a jerk last night and scared me half to death. I knew he had a temper but I never thought..." _Sara ended her thoughts there. She didn't want to know what Grissom was capable of, but she did know he would never take his anger out on her. It was just a spontaneous outburst brought on by her own stupidity and anger. She deserved it.

"Grissom…" Sara exclaimed while looking sadly on the floor at her boss.

"Yeah…" Little did Sara know, Grissom had been crying. His whimpers diminished as he realized he let his emotions escape once more.

"Umm, you know this bed is massive and I don't think you're going to take up all the room up here… If you want to join me…" Sara tried not to stumble over her words as the thought of Grissom being beside her under the covers gave her several shivers.

"I think I'm safer away from you…Would you like to recall our earlier attempt at conversation?" Grissom bitterly retorted.

"Alright… We both did and said stuff that we regret. Can you please come up here and forgive me if I forgive you?" Sara forced a smile to her lips when Grissom lifted his head from the floor and stared into her eyes. His eyes were still glistening with a few tears which refused to fall and Grissom had to fight extra hard to make sure Sara didn't see any succumb to gravity's demise. He slowly got up from the floor and stood over Sara. Right away Sara noticed that his blue dress shirt he had slept in had become messy through several hours of tossing and turning. All of his buttons had come undone leaving his chest exposed. She took the opportunity to memorize every curl and curve as she may never see such a sight again. Grissom finally allowed a smile to show through his coarse exterior as he gently climbed onto the bed lying beside Sara. His head rested on one a fluffy pillow as he tried to stop himself from turning around to face his "partner."

"_Well if he's not going to do anything why can't I?" _Sara thought as she placed her hand under his chin and turned his face to hers. The action left Grissom with mixed feelings as he struggled with the words to form his apology. His heart rate increased drastically as he drew closer and closer to Sara.

"Sara…I understand if you don't want our connection to evolve more then just a plain 'hello' everyday…A relationship would never work between us, there's too much of an age difference…And I would never be able to cater to your needs Sara. As for everything I did to you tonight, I'm sorry and I hope it won't interfere with our practices at work." Grissom continued to stare into Sara's eyes as he felt her pull him closer.

"News flash Grissom…I forgive you. We all make mistakes and I just provoked your anger."

"That's no excuse…" Grissom rubbed Sara's arm where only a few hours ago he had forcefully took it into his possession. Together they looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, unsure of what one should say or do next.

"What are you afraid of?" Sara was determined to find out why Grissom was so scared of commitment. His heart rate climbed once more as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Nothing…" He let out one final exhausted breath before rolling over on his side away from Sara. Keeping his distance was the smartest thing to do.

'_I can't let my guard down sweetheart…I hope you can forgive me and move on_.' Grissom thought as he drifted off to sleep, leaving Sara confused and saddened by his lack of response.

'_Don't think I'm not going to get to the bottom of this Gil Grissom…I have at least two weeks to make you love me and I'm going to try as hard as it takes to make you see the light._' Sara's mind was racing rather then resting at devising a plan to conquer the unconquerable as she watched Grissom sleep.

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Grissom awoke with a jolt as he realized that the opposite side of the bed was cold. Figuring Sara had gotten up and showered, he decided to make some coffee and start on ordering room service. As his stomach let out a hungry growl he got up from the bed and sluggishly made his way over to the coffee machine. As he scooped the grains into the machine, a pang of fear started making his way to his gut and cutting out any hunger he may have experienced previously.

"Where's her suitcase?" Grissom's voice held a sense of panic as he quickly made his way down to the bathroom down the hall. Hearing no water running, he tapped on the door hoping she had the suitcase inside the room with her.

"Sara?" Grissom inquired as a headache started to grace his presence. This wasn't normal, they were on an assignment and she just wouldn't leave him here without a note or a message. "_Maybe she got someone to pick up our luggage and she's just out running a few errands before we leave_." Grissom tried to remain calm and objective as he picked up a phone and dialed the front desk.

"Yes…I was just wondering if you have any messages for me… It's room 204…Nothing? Yeah, thanks." Grissom slammed the phone down in anger as he realized Sara may have left him alone, giving up on their assignment. "_Why would she just leave?"_ Grissom grabbed Culpepper's card out of his pants from yesterday and was about to call the number when he heard a noise from outside the hotel room. Giggles and loud bursts of laughter snapped him back to reality. He knew that laugh from anywhere. Feeling a sense of dread loom over him, Grissom quickly made his way to the door and peered out of the 'peephole'.

"You know… If I didn't get up in the middle of the night to take advantage of the pool area we may not have met…" Sara's voice held a sense of attraction for the younger man holding her hand.

"Yeah well, let's just say I'm a lucky man for bumping into you." The younger man had slicked back blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes and a flawless chiseled body. He was either a body builder or generally obsessed with working out.

Grissom felt bile come up to his throat as he saw the young man plunge into Sara's mouth with a sense of urgency. His hand went up Sara's shirt, cupping her breasts as she let out a muffled moan of excitement. Before their passion got too far Grissom swung open the door and gapped at the 'couple' with his mouth wide open in shock.

"Ummm…Grissom…I was just…" Sara stepped back from the body builder and closer to Grissom.

"Don't say anything…Actions speak louder then words Sara." Grissom's struggled to retain his anger once more as he clenched his fist as hard as he could.

"What? We're not even together Grissom! You just said last night that our age difference was too great…" Sara couldn't believe Grissom could be so shallow to state one thing then retract on how he felt. He was an enigma, one she had given up on figuring out. Last night she was tired of planning, she was restless and her loneliness was taken away by Chuck's friendly nature. He was willing to listen to what she had to say and he was not shy in hiding the way he felt. She slightly still wished Grissom could be as forceful in explaining his emotions. Chuck read like an open book, a quality Sara had recently become attracted to.

"I thought you loved me…" Grissom stated in a low voice looking away from Sara and Chuck, trying to forget what he had just witnessed.

"Yeah well maybe I moved on Grissom. Something you should do. You're just too complicated, one minute I have you figured out and the next you are a mystery! Your father moved out when you were younger correct?" Sara bluntly asked. Grissom merely nodded his head to her question. "Well, if you were as half as frustrating as you are now, I don't blame him." Sara's anger left her not thinking straight, and Grissom's was already bubbling to the surface. There was only so much holding back he could do. With one powerful slap to her face Grissom knocked Sara to the ground. Her head banged against the doorframe leaving her unconscious on the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" With that statement Chuck punched Grissom in the face. White flooded his vision as he succumbed to the darkness. He didn't deserve not to feel pain for what he had done. The cycle was complete… Like Father, like Son.

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Grissom woke in a cold sweat on top of an unbearably warm bed. The morning's light blinded his eyes as he slowly took in the horror of his dream. After several slow, soothing breaths his heart rate returned back to a steady pace.

'_Alright think logically…I would never hurt Sara. I am not my father and I do not have an anger problem. You're just experiencing past memories of you and your mother and it is clouding your judgment in the present. Snap out of it! Sure he was released from prison a month ago, get over it. He's not coming to get you_.' Grissom continued to reassure himself when a familiar sense of deja-vu hit him hard.

'_Where's her suitcase_?' Grissom tried not to let the panic settle into his system as he tried to tell himself that this was just a coincidence. '_But…There is no such thing as a coincidence_.' Grissom's logical side took over as he analyzed the situation. '_Dreams are just dreams…They don't come true_.' After quickly opening the door to the bathroom and realizing Sara was no where to be found in their entire suite, he allowed panic to finally register through out his body.

"_Alright, now I can rightfully panic_." Grissom searched his entire room for Culpepper's business card, after remembering an image from his dream, he ran to the pile of clothes by his side of the bed. Just as he was about to dial the number he heard a giggle come from the hallway.

'_This isn't possible…Stay calm. It was a dream, damn it. Even if it comes true don't allow the past to consume you._' Grissom slowly approached the door and heard the familiar giggle grow closer and closer. Grissom didn't bother looking through the peephole when he swung open the door this time. He couldn't believe what he saw.

"Uh..Huh…Right… Alright Greg, you're jokes are killing my sides here! I gotta go, Grissom says 'Hi'. Behave and tell Nick and Warrick to watch over you like a hawk, you're only a CSI level one, not Superman. OK, bye." Sara looked over at Grissom whose hair was a mess, several beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, while his t-shirt was soaked from perspiration as well. Large bags were formed under his eyes making Sara worry if he had even received an hour of sleep.

"You look like hell Griss. Bagel? I took our luggage down stairs and left our carry-ons here to pack any small stuff we left around from last night." Sara passed Grissom some breakfast as he still appeared stunned in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Sara had never seen Grissom look so scared in her entire life.

"Nothing…" Grissom uttered as he searched through the paper bag and examined the food items inside. He shut the door behind him as he made his way to a small table in their 'living room'. He sat down on a fold out chair and Sara chose to join him and sit directly across from her distraught supervisor.

"Umm, you know you can't keep on saying 'nothing' unless you wanna get a divorce." Sara failed at getting a smile from Grissom; instead she received a defined frown which crossed his lips.

"Divorce? Oh yeah…For the assignment. About that Sara, I hope you know that no matter how we act in public our relationship will not go past the professional level. All of our actions will be for show." Grissom took a small bite out of his bagel before turning his attention back to Sara. She looked particularly stunning with the morning light shining behind her from a nearby window. Her hair was neatly styled in a small bun and her black pants and red dress shirt complimented her figure nicely.

"But seriously Grissom. You need to work on your communication skills. If something is wrong, get it out now before our assignment begins in Miami. We will have to focus on the case and we cannot have anything clouding our judgment, don't you agree?" Sara began to feel as if she was Grissom's supervisor and not the other way around as he nodded in agreement.

"I completely agree Sara, however now is not the time for me to discuss my problems. We have only an hour to pack our carry on and board the plane." With that statement of fact, Grissom and Sara quickly began to pack and headed out of their hotel room as quickly as their feet would take them. A limousine was outside of the hotel right on schedule and the two CSI's quickly climbed in and were greeted by Agent Culpepper and two other members of the FBI.

"Supervisor Grissom, you look terrible. May I suggest a dose of coffee?" Culpepper handed out a large Starbucks which Grissom accepted with no hesitation. Sara was offered a cup as well, which she gratefully welcomed. "Alright, inside this briefcase are crime scene photos from all twenty of the serials, we're calling the guy the 'Executioner' as all of his killings are done execution style."

"Interesting, Special Agent Culpepper, but I would prefer to call it an 'unknown signature homicide- suburbs, Miami.'" Grissom raised an eyebrow to Culpepper who let out a chuckle.

"Ah! Nice to know some things never change. But, you have to admit that our version rolls off the tongue better and identifies with the public more. Alright, so you two look over the case files and anything you think of, call me. Don't hesitate now. Enjoy your flight Sidle and Grissom… Oh, or should I say Mr. and Mrs. Grissom?"

Grissom rolled his eyes as he exited the limousine and grabbed his luggage out of the trunk. He helped Sara lower hers safely to the ground before he began the long journey to find their terminal.


	4. Chapter 4: Over the threshold

Chapter 4

_Over the threshold_

The plane ride was more productive then Sara had expected, given Grissom's dopey state. Together they analyzed hundreds of photographs that filled their suitcase to the brim, Grissom managed to make a few statements about the killings but nothing substantial due to his tired brain. After forty minutes of work, Sara thought it would be best to catch up on some sleep before they landed in Miami. As she fell under the Sandman's spell Grissom tossed and turned as his dreams began to turn into nightmares once more. As he shifted from side to side in his seat it was a miracle that Sara did not wake up.

"_You're nothing! All you do is sit at home all day and admire the art work of the house while Gil reads his precious little books. Both of you do nothing! Nothing!" James Grissom laughed as he landed several hits to his wife's face before scaring his son into his bedroom to hide. As the young child looked through his door's peephole, several tears moistened his teddy bear clutched to his side. _

"_What, that's it? A couple of hits knock you down and then you just give up?" James Grissom allowed his hands to ruffle his hair making the accumulated perspiration which rested on his follicles disperse in the air, eventually falling gracefully to the floor. As his dad continued to hit his mother, Gil felt helpless, yet somehow responsible for what was transpiring. As the young child continued to view the violence from the doorway, his father transformed into an older man who still held an enormous amount of rage. His mother's breath became shallow as the man grabbed the still body from the floor and tied a rope around her neck._

"_Now you can be displayed for all your glory. You're my trophy wife, never to age and never to disobey. Forever mine, perfect in all your splendor…" As the final knot was tied, the man turned his back to Gil Grissom's doorway, not allowing for the child to see the mystery man's face. As the man turned around once more, Gil screamed as the killer transformed once more, this time into a middle aged version of himself. Horrified, young Gil watched himself hang his mother from a beam on the ceiling as he started to cry tears of fear as he saw his future self smile in redemption._

"_Now the cycle is complete…" The older Grissom muttered as he spit on his mother before walking out the front door._

"Grissom!" Sara woke Grissom with a halt. The concern on her face made him realize he was either talking in his sleep or being far too distressed to be having a peaceful slumber.

"Umm, we're here…" Sara gave Grissom once last squeeze to the arm before she unbuckled her seatbelt. He was thankful that Sara did not pry into what dream he may have experienced as he was at a loss for words for having constant nightmares. As he tried to analyze his night terrors, he grabbed his carry on and followed Sara to the exit of the plane.

The taxi pulled up to the driveway to their new "home" in a slow fashion, being careful not to knock over the statue of Adam and Eve which rested in the middle of the driveway.

"Grissom, have you ever seen Home Alone?" Sara smiled as she watched Grissom analyze the question posed to him.

"Who's home alone?" His voice had the slight edge of concern as Sara let out a laugh.

"No…It's a movie title…It's a about this child who was left home alone on Christmas. It's pretty funny…Anyways, getting to my point, in the family's driveway taxi cabs and other vehicles would always manage to knock over the family's statue. It kinda looked like this one…" Sara turned to Grissom to see that he was wearing his signature stare filled with deep thought.

"Why didn't the family just remove the statue? If cars were to hit the art piece and become dented, it would be issued immediately as a safety hazard." Grissom arched his eyebrow as he waited for Sara to make a comment. All she could do was instinctively roll her eyes to his typical "Grissom-like" response.

"Alright you two… That will be twenty bucks even." The taxi cab driver turned around to see the two CSI's still smiling to each other. Grissom gave the driver a twenty and crept out of the car, wincing in pain as his knees locked.

"Man, you're getting old…I should have married you before you had arthritis…" Sara giggled.

"Amusing Sara, someday you'll feel the tribulations of time. Until then, you can laugh it up." Grissom grabbed their suitcases as Sara gingerly picked up their carry-ons. They both were surprised at the elegant nature of their new home. Greek architecture was mimicked throughout the home's exterior, complete with white columns lining their front doorway; red roses bloomed with vitality as the sun's rays made the petals appear to glow. The house even had a typical white picket fence; it was the epitome of what all may perceive as the "American Dream."

"And why do we need a three story house for this assignment? I could have made do with a humble bungalow. This is too much." Grissom turned to Sara to see a more optimistic expression on her face, the complete opposite of Grissom's arched eyebrow.

"Grissom, of course we're going to need all this space…Where else are the children going to play?" Sara was loving every minute of their interlude as she searched her purse for the set of keys Culpepper gave her.

"Oh yes…How charming." Grissom rolled his eyes to the thought of having children and leading the typical life in American suburbia. The thought of living with Sara had its rewards; however, the prospect of having children did not sit well with the middle aged CSI.

"Remember darling, we now have to play the role of husband and wife whenever we're in public…So if the neighbors are watching right now, don't you think you should carry me over the threshold? After all we are newlyweds." Sara watched in utter fascination as Grissom began to analyze the situation.

"_It's all only for the case… None of this is real…It's just an act. What if the killer is watching?" _A sound in the bushes immediately cut off Grissom's train of thought.

"What was that?" Grissom looked around the front lawn to see if anyone was hiding in the numerous bushes that lined the sides of their driveway.

"I didn't hear anything…" Sara gave Grissom a look of concern.

"I did…" Grissom walked away from Sara and headed down their driveway. His gun was hidden in his jacket, away from plain sight in case any nosy neighbors were watching from a far. As he approached the largest bush on their property, a man and a woman popped out and caused Grissom to jump.

"What the hell are you doing?" Grissom kept his distance as his heart rate returned to normal.

"Oh we're sorry…You're the newlyweds correct? Is that your wife?" The woman pointed to Sara who was watching in amusement still by their front door.

"Uh…Yeah. And may I ask again, why you were hiding in our bushes?" Grissom was beginning to believe that their neighbors maybe more nosy then he thought.

"Oh my wife and her crazy ideas…You'll soon get to see why women drive you crazy. I'm Greg Labbtec and this is my wife Crystal. My wife just loves it when newlyweds move in cause she finds it romantic to watch them interact with each other…You know, that first walk over the threshold, their first kiss in front of their new home…That sort of shpeel." Greg ended his statement with a large smile which distracted Grissom from any sane thoughts. He noted immediately that the man's teeth were abnormally white and his skin was flawless along with his wife's. The two were in matching polo outfits making Gil believe that this neighborhood was far from being in an area of poverty. Greg slicked back his jet black hair as he smiled once more at his wife whose hair was done up in a neat pony tail. Her blonde locks sparkled in the sun as she began to giggle as her husband slid his hand over her butt.

"Umm, nice to meet you…Sara, honey…Do you want to come over and meet our new neighbors?" Grissom found it extremely odd to be calling Sara "honey"; he could only hope that their practices would not carry over to the work place. Catherine wouldn't let him hear the end of it.

"Hey baby. Are you going to introduce me?" Sara smiled coolly as she tried to hold back a giggle as she thought of more pet names to call Grissom in public.

_This is going to be fun._

"Sara, this is Mr. and Mrs. Labbtec, they wanted to observe us and our newlywed ways…"

"_I am going to be glad when this is over with. I just want to lie down and go to bed." _Grissom rubbed his eyes and began to drift off in a daydreaming state as Sara talked with the couple.

"Oh look at this, they brought us a gift…" Sara held up the bread maker and displayed it to Grissom.

"Wow, it has six speeds." His voice held a sense of sarcasm as he pretended to be interested in the gesture.

"So where's that newlywed kiss? You two seem so distant for your second day of marriage. Why, when Greg and I were wed we had to make sure the windows were closed at night because we were afraid of the neighbors thinking that someone was getting murdered." Crystal and Greg let out a haunting laugh as Grissom perked up.

"Murdered? Please elaborate." Grissom's question rewarded him with a sharp jab to his stomach.

"Honey, I'm sure you don't want to know the details." Sara said through her gritted teeth as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"No, Sara, I do…"

"Umm well... Sex does get loud if you know what I mean Mr….Umm, I didn't catch your last name."

Grissom panicked as he realized Culpepper neglected to inform him of what fake last name Sara and Grissom would be assuming during their operation. Quickly Grissom blurted out the first name which came to him.

"Umm, Mr. Othello…" Sara busted out laughing at Grissom's response.

"What's wrong with her?" Greg inquired.

"She still can't help but become overjoyed when hearing her new last name, right honey?" Grissom tried to contain his amusement at Sara's present state.

"Uh huh…" She successfully calmed herself down and decided to wrap her arm around his waist which made Grissom jump in response. Her hands felt incredible against his body as he restrained himself from either walking away from the situation or intensifying it.

"Well, we're still waiting you guys!" Crystal stated as she put her head on her husband's shoulder.

"For what?" Grissom innocently asked.

"Oh honey… You know…" Sara smiled as she watched Grissom's eyes shift from side to side nervously. She took him by surprise that was for sure, as her lips landed on his hard. Sara knew very well that he couldn't pull away in the public eye and she took advantage of the situation in all it's entirety. He was softer then she could have imagined as she sucked on his bottom lip. A shiver ran down her spine as Grissom's tongue slid inside her mouth as his hands grabbed her ass. A soft moan escaped her as he continued to make love to her with his mouth, totally forgetting about their spectators. His passion took over his body, all the feelings he tried to restrain for more then five years of fantasies were released into one kiss. Their hearts both beat hard against their chest as their kiss came to an end. Neither one of them remember how long it had lasted, all they could remember was their neighbors all peering out of their windows and Greg and Crystal gawking at the couple with their mouths wide open. The two CSI's stared at each other; both taken aback by what had just occurred. Sara was the first to smile and Grissom followed with a large grin of satisfaction. He chose to hide his proof of arousal behind the bread maker which he picked up from the ground and held in front of him.

"Well I think we're going to let you two get settled in…Just remember to close the windows…" Greg let out a small chuckle as the couple made their way back to their residence.

"Wow, Griss I … Ummm….I never…" Sara searched for the words to describe what had just transpired.

"You never had a kiss that turned you on so much that you almost were at a point of release?" Grissom was more then turned on, he was barely hanging on from a thread at the thought of taking Sara and making love to her harder and longer then he had ever had to any woman before. He had to restrain himself. He just had to.

"Grissom…" Sara cupped his face with her hands as his eyes closed and succumbed to her touch. "This isn't just for show is it? Please say it isn't…"

"Honey, right now I want to take you into that house and fuck you so hard that it will make you forget about any other man you've ever been with." Grissom's eyes turned black with passion as he watched Sara's face turn red.

"God Grissom…You better not be faking this or I'm going to kill you. And you know very well I could get away with it." Grissom lifted Sara up off of the ground and her arms wrapped instinctively around his neck. She gracefully allowed her tongue to slide along his neck and took the opportunity of sucking on one of his earlobes.

"Sara if you keep this up I'm going to come right now..."

"Well then I better be a good wife and just be patient huh?" She grinned once more as she heard a small animalistic grunt come from Grissom as he swung open the door and carried Sara over the threshold. He quickly took in their new surroundings as he slammed the door shut forcibly with one foot behind him. To his luck the bedroom was straight ahead down a small hallway, he didn't bother turning on the lights as he threw Sara down on their king size bed.

"Grissom, I have to admit I like this animal side of you." Sara sucked her finger and watched in fascination as Grissom's erection grew bigger threw his jeans.

"God you don't know what that does to me when you do that…" Grissom climbed on top of Sara allowing her to feel the peak of his arousal.

"I think I can imagine…" Sara's thoughts were cut short at the touch of Grissom's lips landing hard on hers. Her tongue dancedwith his as her shirt was slowly unbuttoned with a brief amount of restraint.

"Honey, are we going too fast… I don't want to do anything you're not ready for."

"Grissom, I've been ready and waiting for more then five years, if you don't take me now I won't be responsible for my actions." After stating what Sara believed to be the obvious, she slid her hand along Grissom's manhood, feeling him grow bigger with every move.

"Sara, don't start something you don't plan on finishing." Grissom slid off her shirt and loomed over her, taking in her exposed chest. Her lace bra created a desirable amount of cleavage, enticing him to lick every inch of her exposed flesh.

"God Grissom…" Sara arched her back as he reached behind her back to undo her bra, removing it with ease making her believe that he had some practice under his belt. Her negative thoughts were vanquished as he sucked on her left nipple; making her more turned on then she had ever been in her entire life. A loud moan rumbled from her chest as she looked up to see utter hunger in Grissom's eyes.

"Honey, what do you want me to do for you?" Grissom started to undo his belt as he kept his eyes on hers. As he undid his button Sara's hands quickly took over. She undid the fly with a dire urgency as her fingers stoked his member.

"Grissom, I want you to take me now, long and hard. No holding back babe. If I'm going to have you, I want all of you now…" And with that remark Grissom grabbed his pants and threw them off in the corner of the room. His boxers quickly came off just as fast as Sara could climb out of her pants. Just as she was about to slide her lace underwear off Grissom grabbed her hand.

"Let me…" Grissom slid his hand down to the front of her panties and slid them off only using his teeth. The action left Sara wetter then she could have ever imagined. With slight embarrassment, she realized that she was displaying herself for him wearing nothing but the desire painted on her face. Grissom showed no hesitation as she took in his form. His broad shoulders glistened in sweat and several beads made their way down to his ass which was chiseled to perfection. His size is what Sara worried about.

"God Grissom you're…"

"Big?" His stream of kisses loomed over her breasts and slowly made their way down to her belly button; his tongue made slow circles inside it before finding interest inside her thighs. Another load moan erupted from Sara as she let her head jet back as his breath drew near her opening.

"Fuck Grissom, I can't take this anymore…I waited long enough don't you think?" Sara was rewarded with a hard thrust into her opening as Grissom's manhood penetrated her hard and swift. A scream was all she could respond with as he filled up inside her with no hesitations. Exactly what she wanted.

"This is all I ever needed…You under me…Me fucking you, finally having you as close as I could get you. And God you feel better then I could have ever fantasized about." He continued thrusting into her as hard as he could, grabbing her hands above her head holding her down, never wanting to let go. "Is this what you want?" Grissom grunted under his breath, continuing to hold his eye contact with Sara.

"Yessss! Harder, I want you to take me without holding back. I want everything you got Griss." Sara held her breath as Grissom cried out in passion as he smacked into her with all his strength. As his thrusts met the demand of all his passion, Sara began to cry out in pain and in pleasure. Not hearing her, he continued to let his desire take over him succumbing to all of his carnal thoughts.

"Grissom…" Sara's body appeared to be the likeliness of a rag doll as his strength and desire overpowered hers. In one animalistic grunt, Grissom spilled his seed into Sara as she cried out in release at the same time. He immediately grew silent as Sara stroked his face.

"God babe, that was incredible…Never would have I thought shy, conservative Gil Grissom was such an animal in bed." His face grew pale as he realized what he had done. He lost control. It was too easy, if he lost control in restraining his passion, could he lose control of his anger? He couldn't think of it, he didn't want to. All he wanted to do was sleep beside Sara and finally feel an emotion he thought he would never possess again. Love.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5: Could it be a Mistake?

**Chapter 5**

_Could it be a Mistake?_

Sara woke slowly, succumbing to the morning sun blinding her from her surroundings. She instinctively reached for the opposite side of the bed where she found no comfort. There was no indication that last night actually took place other then the wrinkled blue shirt Grissom had thrown across the room earlier. Her stomach sank as she began to feel like a one night stand.

"_He didn't even have the decency to wake me up and explain where he was going first?"_ Sara searched the abnormally large bedroom for a note or an explanation of where Grissom had run off to. She decided to make herself be useful and clean up the bedroom before moving on the kitchen to start breakfast. As she bent over to pick up one of the comforters which fell to the floor, she winced in pain.

"_I guess we were a little too rough last night…" _Sara noted, as she neatly arranged the bed to her liking. She quickly made her way to the kitchen as her stomach began to rumble in objection. Sara didn't even remember eating last night; she figured that her attentions were quickly diverted after meeting their neighbors. A slight shiver made its way down her spine as she recalled last night's chain of events, she still didn't believe it was real. What had changed his mind so suddenly? A smile formed on her lips as she recalled Grissom's released passion. _"Damn him for being so sexy, it's so hard to stay mad at him. It doesn't mean I'm not still going to give it to him when I see him…"_

A creek from the front door startled her thoughts.

"Grissom?" Sara questioned as she made her way quickly to the living room. Surprisingly she was greeted with another stranger.

"_OK…So I'm guessing it's alright just to walk into anyone's house in this part of town. Very odd"_ Sara noted.

"Hi, sorry for startling you…My name is Elizabeth Nouvelle, I'm friends with the Labteccs? I just came over here to invite you to a little get together tonight over at my home. It's a welcoming party for you and your husband. Will you be able to attend? The party starts at 8…" Elizabeth nervously smoothed out several strands of her auburn hair which previously had several seeds from a dandelion weed trapped in amidst. Her sharply chiseled chin made her appear to be suffering from an eating disorder, yet her bags of groceries of junk food in her hands made Sara believe that she was just suffering from an abnormal metabolism. A flick of red on her scandals is what caught Sara's eye.

"Yeah sure… Umm do you mind if I ask where you bought your sandals, I would just love to pick up a pair." Sara tried not to break her cover by asking to take a swab of the stain which lay on the right side of the sandal.

"I actually don't remember, I bought them last spring." She flashed Sara another eerie smile before shifting her eyes from side to side looking more uncomfortable by the second.

"Do you mind if I take a picture of them? I'm just going to show the photo to the shoe stores and hope I can find something similar…" Sara was rewarded to the nod of Elizabeth's head before searching for her camera. As Sara left the room, Elizabeth searched the space for a phone. Successfully finding her target, she grabbed a bugging device from her purse and quickly hooked it to the wires inside the phone. She barely managed to pull off her task before Sara bolted quickly back into the room.

"I finally found it…We still have a lot of unpacking to do…" She noted before clicking three photographs of the sandals. When she felt she had a satisfactory amount of documented evidence, she placed the camera back on an end table to find that Elizabeth had already vanished.

"_This place is getting weirder and weirder by the minute…And where the heck is Grissom?"_ Pushing her anger aside once more, she went back inside the kitchen to find Grissom sitting on a chair with a blank expression drawn on his face.

"Glad to see you finally showed up…" Sara bitterly retorted as she poured herself a cup of coffee before dropping angrily into a seat in front of him.

"Not now Sara…Are you alright?" Sadness still loomed over him as dread began to fill his stomach.

"Umm, what do you think? I have the most incredible sex of my whole entire life with the only man I have ever loved and then I wake up to find that he leaves me in the morning…I'm officially a one night stand…Is that all I mean to you? A quickie before bed?" Her face was flushed from anger as she waited for his response.

"You love me?" Grissom shook his head in shame as he got up and walked outside. Sara immediately followed.

"Of course I do Grissom! You think I would wait practically a lifetime for just anyone? So yeah…I suppose I do love you…" Sara crossed her arms and tried to fight back any tears. She wasn't going to break down this easily. He should have apologized by now.

"Are you in pain…?" Grissom whispered as his back was still facing Sara as he looked out into their backyard. Several palm trees swayed gently in the wind, making his whisper barely audible.

"What do you mean?" Sara innocently replied as Grissom finally turned around to face her. His eyes were bloodshot from crying and his hands held indentations from making a tight fist for hours on end.

"Did I hurt you last night Sara…Please tell me the truth…"He lowered his head in redemption as he finally felt more exposed then he had felt in more then thirty years.

"Grissom everything you did was what I asked for…The pain that I experience in the morning is my fault as much as it would be yours. What I'm mad at is how you could just leave me here, especially since we're on a case." Sara tried to hold Grissom's gaze, she failed miserably. His attention was focused on her wrists more then anything, which held bruises from being held down during last night's lovemaking.

"You don't deserve me Sara…Last night was a mistake, I'm sorry. Let's just do what we have to do on the case and then go home." Grissom walked quickly away from Sara without an explanation and left their property through a wooden gate at the end of their lot. A trickle of tears made their way down her face as she realized she may have lost him forever. It was her own fault. Their love making wasn't real; their house wasn't real, nor was their first kiss. It was all just obtained under false pretenses; he did it just for the case. This was all just for show, all for the name of the game. Grissom was right, last night was a mistake. She should have moved on and forgot about him long before this operation.


	6. Chapter 6: The Life…Or Dead of the Party

**Chapter 6**

_The Life…Or Dead of the Party_

"_So you're just going to leave me?" Ariel questioned at the top of her lungs. Yeah, she did deserve an explanation, but what was Grissom supposed to tell her?_

"_Yes…" Grissom started to pack up the rest of his belongings from his girlfriend's dorm. Several textbooks fell from his grasp as he began to shake from his nervousness._

"_I thought you said you loved me! That we were meant for each other? God you're just like your father Gil… You get up and run away when something or someone gets too close." Ariel's anger was clouding her judgment again as she spat out words and profanities to try to hurt Grissom. The only thing that stuck out in his mind was that he was like his father…Was he? He never wanted to stay with a woman long enough to find out._

"_Fine go…God, you and your mother were pathetic to put up with him anyways…When I was your neighbor, all I would hear were things being thrown around all night…I wouldn't have stayed." Ariel grinned when she saw Grissom's expression change from calm to rage._

"_Don't you EVER talk about my mother again…Do you understand?" Grissom yelled, not realizing he now had numerous spectators watching from the near by dorms as their door was open for their entire argument. With a final act of derogation Ariel spit on Grissom to which she received a slap to her face. The action left Grissom stunned._

"_Get out! If I ever see you anywhere on my campus again I'll call the cops! You are your father… You disgust me…" As Grissom started to hear the sirens of campus security start to draw closer, he ran down the hallway to bump into one of the security officers._

"_Son, you're coming with us…" Grissom was cuffed and escorted down the hallway. He promised himself only one thing; he would never get close to another woman again. He had to stay strong. He just had to…_

A knock to his hotel room jolted him from his repressed memories.

"Dr. Grissom? It's me, Special Agent Culpepper, open up…"

Grissom rose sluggishly from his bed to unlock the door which separated him from the one person he dreaded to talk with besides Sara.

"Ah, nice to see you Culpepper, I was wondering when you would grace me once more with your presence." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he slumped once more back on the bed.

"Alright, Dr. Grissom, when I said you could accept the mission I expected you to stay in the house we provided you. You're supposed to married to Sidle, now the whole neighborhood is going to think you're divorced. You just don't leave an undercover Op and your partner without any notification of where you will be staying!" Culpepper's anger was evident, however Grissom could care less.

"You know what, you're right, Culpepper, I should just stay with Sara so we can discuss window treatments and bake homemade cookies together while waiting for the next episode of "I Love Lucy" to air on Nick at Night." Grissom's eyes closed as he tried to fight his headache.

"I don't care what you want to do while you're inside that house, Grissom…But my ass is on the line here and if you don't get up and go back to that home I'm going to have to force you. You only have an hour to get ready for a party. I suggest hurrying back as soon as possible. You look like you need some sleep, take these tonight cause you look terrible." Grissom was tossed a bottle of sleeping pills, an invitation and three photos of sandals.

"The party starts at eight and those pictures Sidle believes have blood present on your hostess' attire. I suggest watching Mrs. Nouvelle mighty closely just in case she is our first suspect. I'll leave all the evidence taking to you. Just call me when we may get to arrest somebody…" Quickly leaving Grissom to think on his own feet, Culpepper pushed his way out of his room and into the hallway.

"_Sara knows know where we stand. It was a mistake; the rest of the case is pure business. Just act like her supervisor and nothing can go wrong. Think you're at work…And if you have to act like you're married just a quick peck on her cheek will suffice. It's business…All for show." _Grissom kept on repeating his mantra to himself as he left his hotel room and made his way to his car in hope of being early for the party.

Sara was a hard woman to find in a crowd of middle aged, snobby millionaires. He had hoped his tuxedo would not make him appear over dressed. His attire choice proved to be correct as he noted that everyman in the room was a wearing a suit. The women on the other hand all wore unique dresses which catered to their unique personalities. Grissom was too late to catch Sara before she left so had no clue as to what she was wearing. The thought of Sara in a high cut dress stirred up a mixture of feelings Grissom was trying to repress. He made up his mind in the car that no matter how she looked or what she said it was all for show. Their distance was for their own good. As he searched the enormous living room for any sign of his partner, he noted the elegance that the home endowed. Crystal chandeliers swung from the ceiling with ease and the marble floors shone with brilliance. The Nouvelle's living room was four times the size of Grissom's "home" and the fact that they had their own DJ for the party added to his perception that they were filthy rich.

"_All this just to welcome us into the neighborhood? A little over done…Something isn't right…" _ Stuck in his own thoughts, Grissom failed to notice her. She was stunning. He held his breath as he took in all her beauty wrapped in a red Oscar de la Renta designer dress which had a high slit on her left side, almost showing her thong line. Her hair was done up in a bun and several curls were strung down, refusing to be bound. Her red lips diverted his attention to her smile which she was unfortunately giving to three other men sitting on a couch with her right in the middle. She didn't seem to notice him there as she continued to flirt with three gorgeous guys. They all neglected to realize she was "married" due to the absence of a ring. Culpepper had picked out cheap fake gold rings for the couple to wear while they were out, both of them always forgot.

"So you're in the exotic dancing business…I didn't know one could make so much money." Sara blushed as the gentleman looked down at his crotch.

"Well Miss, if you saw how big I was, you too would pass the money up front just to get a glimpse…" The man took Sara's hand and kissed it before leaning in to kiss her. Sara didn't even flinch as he took her into his mouth. Grissom began to feel the familiar pang of jealousy as he watched Sara with another man. This time it wasn't a dream.

"May I ask what the hell you're doing, honey?" Grissom's voice struggled to hold a sense of sanity as Sara didn't even break from the kiss when she heard his voice. After another minute she ended her lip lock and turned innocently towards Grissom.

"What does it look like darling? I'm mingling. I'm sure you didn't mind, remember our conversation earlier?" Sara bitterly laughed as another man kissed her neck and his hands made their way up the slit of her dress.

"I would like this to stop. NOW Sara." Grissom made himself more then clear to the men by her side, however Sara did not seem to get the picture. As the men tried to leave she clung onto their jackets.

"What? Don't leave, the party is just getting started…Don't pay any attention to him, he's nobody." The men all left Sara alone on the couch with a martini grasped in her free hand. Grissom suppressed his anger when he saw the glass half empty along with others identical empty on the table.

"You're drunk Sara…" Grissom noted as he sat down and put a possessive arm around his "wife".

"I am not drunk…And get your damn hands off of me!" Sara slid further down the couch trying to gain her distance.

"We're supposed to be married remember?" Grissom whispered, trying not to allow anyone to hear their conversation.

"Yes, that's right Grissom, it's all for show…And I suppose last night was too huh? You fuck me and then that's it…You can then just treat me like your employee and try to pretend nothing is wrong. Am I just your whore, Grissom? Is that all I will ever be?" Sara was far from quiet and Grissom soon realized that the whole entire party was now staring at them in disbelief.

"…Sara…I…Umm…I'll be right back." Grissom searched for the words to explain his actions as he got up to sort out his feelings in the washroom.

"Excuse me Mrs., is this seat taken?" A handsome elderly gentleman took the seat where Grissom had previously rested. His grey curly hair and stunning blue eyes took Sara aback. His face was clean shaven but held a slight amount of stubble which was becoming close to resembling a five o'clock shadow. "I couldn't help but notice you look upset, and an upset woman upsets me believe it or not…" The older man flashed another charming smile before taking Sara's hand with no hesitation.

"Yeah, my husband and I love to fight…" Sara bitterly responded before finally noticing that their hands were entwined.

"Your husband is a foolish man, for if I had you as my trophy, I would never give you anything but respect and admiration." He flashed Sara another enchanting smile before stroking her hand lovingly. Somehow Sara couldn't object to his actions, they seemed familiar.

"Do I know you? I have the strange feeling that we've met before." Sara tried to scan her memories for any past meetings and could only hope that he did not know what her true profession was; it would ruin the mission for sure.

"No, I doubt it…Although we could have been lovers in a past life. Am I too forward to say that I think I'm in love…?" The elderly man continued to hold Sara's gaze.

"Hmm, I don't know what my husband would think of that. He has a bad temper." Sara's eyes glazed over recalling the first night they stayed together in the hotel. He had taken her arm quite forcibly and left her wondering about his repressed emotions. She knew he had passion but she didn't want to find out the hard way about his temper. But, this was Grissom she was thinking about. Not some abusive husband. His heart is too big to contain anger…Or does it.

"A temper is something we can fight but never hide." The man quoted.

"Shakespeare?" Sara laughed.

"No…That quote is from me…" The elderly man kissed her cheek once more. "When can we meet again my dear?"

"Umm, well I'll ask my husband about Saturday night. That's six days from now, hopefully we'll be done unpacking. We live in the house directly across the street."

"I will be looking forward to seeing you again." Before Sara could say anything in response a scream made her jump from her seat.

"Help, someone help!" A woman from outside screamed hysterically while pointing to something hidden in the weeds in the backyard. As Sara ran over to the scene she noticed a young woman between the ages of twenty five and thirty was lifeless on the ground with a noose tied around her neck. Grissom ran out of the house and asked everyone to remain clam as he called the police. He stood at the back of Sara as he began taking note of the crime scene.

"Hung like the others…" Grissom noted.

"Yes but from outside in the backyard?" Sara looked up to see that the tree was not big enough or strong enough to support the body lying on the ground.

"No, she was brought here. Look at the eyes, they're clouded over. This murder occurred more then four hours ago and I'm sure someone would have noticed if the body was placed here any sooner. Someone at the party took the body from the victim's home and placed it out side."

"How do you know she was killed in her home?" Sara asked.

"All the others were…The signature is still the same, the killer wouldn't change it by now after more the twenty victims. The killer is trying to tell us something by placing the body here…" Grissom strained his head to think of a motive for any irregularities in the crime scene.

"I think it's a sign. The killer is telling us that someone from the party is next, he's showing one of the guests their future. Everyone brought a present correct?" Grissom nodded his head to Sara's question.

"Yes, it was on the invitation to bring a gift." Grissom said.

"Well then who's to say that this isn't the killer's present? He would have to have been here tonight and known about the party." Sara exclaimed.

"We need to wait for CSI to get here, then cooperate with their investigation in their lab away from plain sight…I think we did enough staring to make ourselves look suspicious." Grissom gently put his arm on Sara's back and escorted her to the living room where they would wait for law enforcement to arrive.


	7. Chapter 7: The Roles Which Deceive

**Chapter Seven**

_The Roles Which Deceive_

**CSI Lab Miami**

**Later that night.**

"Coleman, did you get a list of all the people who received invitations for the party?" Grissom inquired to the young CSI who he was not familiar with. Coleman was a new member of the night shift who was specifically assigned to aid Grissom and Sara in their investigation. He knew the two CSI's only by their reputation and through two seminars he attended last year.

"Yes, Dr. Grissom, I got the list off of Mrs. Nouvelle. She seemed quite determined to help out with the investigation. I will leave you two to work; just page me if you need anything. I'm working on a homicide at a pizza parlor, apparently the victim was shot cause the pizza he made had no extra cheese. He got the order wrong and I guess he paid for it." Coleman walked out of the room holding several case files, leaving Grissom and Sara some peace and quiet to sift through the evidence.

"So here's the list, we just have to compare this to all of the presents people brought in order to determine who did not bring a gift." Grissom and Sara began to sift through the presents which were now labeled evidence. After a couple of minutes of searching, Sara began to breech their topic of conversation which was never completely resolved.

"You know Grissom you never gave me an answer…" Sara held her breath waiting for Grissom's response.

"Sara…You know I don't think of you as a whore…" Grissom avoided her gaze by continuing to sort through the evidence; a practice which gave him a hint of comfort and security while discussing a subject he'd rather forget about.

"Well it certainly seems that way…"

"Yeah well, after your little charade you acted out in the living room many may perceive you to be one as we are supposed to be happily married."

"Who says it was all for show? You think I did those things to make you jealous or because I was drunk? I did them because if I can't get intimacy from you, I'm going to get it elsewhere." Sara's retort left Grissom feel even more emotionally drained.

"Yes well, you can go off on sexual escapades after this operation, not now…" Grissom returned back to the evidence, never allowing Sara to see how hurt he truly was.

"Yes that's right… Everything we do in public is all for show…I just can't help but wonder about what had happened behind closed doors…" Sara mirrored Grissom's actions by looking through the evidence.

"The windows were open Sara…If we were to act as a married couple I wanted people to believe we were in love. What newly wed doesn't have abnormally loud sex in their first new home?" Grissom stared at Sara lifelessly as she felt her heart sink.

"So it was all for show?" Sara glumly asked.

"Of course… What else would it be?" Grissom didn't even turn around when Sara left the room to try to gather her emotions.

_"That bastard made me believe it was real only for me to find out it was all for the case. Typical Grissom, I should have known he would break my heart in the end."_ After allowing for a steady stream of tears to escape from her tear ducts she made herself promise to forget about Grissom. She had to forget about their intimacy, if not for herself but for the case. She needed a clear head to find the killer; she just could hope she could hold off until then.

"_When I get back to Vegas I'm putting in for a transfer in shifts…I'm sure Warrick won't mind working under Grissom's wing once more… After all, he is Grissom's favorite CSI…"_ Sara entered the room once more to see Grissom in high spirits, already forgetting about what had just transpired.

"Alright I looked through all of the presents and every single guest brought something…" Grissom's glint in his eye only added to Sara's anger. She kept her feelings in check and decided to try to remain professional for the integrity of the case.

"So why are you so happy then…?"

"At a party who never usually brings a gift?"

"Umm the person or individuals being celebrated… Or the host…"

"Correct. Mrs. Nouvelle did not bring a gift as her gift to us was the party. A simple fact that we let slip our minds." Grissom smiled as he wrote down several notes in their case file.

"Hate to break up your happiness Grissom, but just because she didn't bring a gift doesn't mean she did it….Although…" Sara's memories rose up out of her mind in a flashback.

_"Umm, do you mind if I ask where you bought your sandals, I would just love to pick up a pair."_

_"I actually don't remember, I bought them last spring…"_

"Sandals…And seeds…" Sara stated as she searched for the photos she had taken earlier on in the day.

"Excuse me?" Grissom asked. Sara proudly held up three photographs, two of Mrs. Nouvelle's shoes and one of a seed that was on her stockings.

"When you were off doing whatever when I was left home alone…Mrs. Nouvelle just walked into the house to tell me about the party. She had seed pods from dandelions in her hair and on her stockings, along with a stain on her scandal that looked like blood. Of course since we're undercover I couldn't swab it. Therefore, I took a photo of it, just in case."

"The body was found in the Nouvelle's backyard in dandelion weeds…" Grissom stated while looking at the photos Sara took.

"You think that Mrs. Nouvelle hung the victim and had a party to cover up the murder?"

"Possibly, but why hang the victim in her own backyard? Why not leave the victim in her home, it would not tie her to the murder…" Grissom was in deep thought once more as he received an urgent page from Culpepper.

"I can take a guess as to who that is…" Sara exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, I'm late for an autopsy so he'll have to wait…" Before Grissom could leave Sara called out to him.

"Grissom…Could we talk more tonight…I just…Need to clarify some things about our relationship." Sara tried to give Grissom a smile, but it quickly faded as she saw Grissom's expression change to that of a narrow frown.

"Sara, I thought you knew what our boundaries were…I warned you at the start of the case that everything we did would be for show…I suppose a short conversation would suffice. But I want to focus on the case…Understand?" Grissom left Sara to contemplate on what her plan was for the evening.

_"There has to be a way of showing you that this wasn't a mistake..."_


	8. Chapter 8: The Penalties of Repression

**A/N: **This chapter wouldn't exist if it were not for the fantastic subplot **Unspoken **helped me develop. I hope you can be patient with what this chapter brings.

**Chapter 8**

_The Penalties of Repression_

Sara set the table waiting for Grissom to come home from his second autopsy briefing. She nervously set down the last fork before running over to the stereo and playing Grissom's favorite music; classical. She topped off the romantic setting by lighting two candles and placing them on the kitchen table. As she thought the place setting was everything to her liking, she patiently waited on the couch for her "husband" to greet her with his presence.

_"You have one last chance Sara. Don't blow this, he'll just hide back in his shell and will never breech the topic once more…You can't make love to someone the way he did to me without feeling anything. He is lying to protect me from something…But what?" _

Sara jumped as she heard Grissom's keys slid into the door. As he entered, he noticed the time and effort Sara had taken in preparing dinner and he could only hope that she didn't have ulterior motives…

_"There is only so much holding back I can do…"_ Grissom thought as Sara stood at the back of him and slowly slid off his jacket.

"Sara…I hope that all this effort isn't to seduce me." Grissom arched an eyebrow as Sara tried to suppress her smile.

"Why would I do a thing like that Grissom?" As Sara smiled as bolt of lightening made them both jump in response.

"I'm glad I made it back before the storm…What is for dinner?" Grissom asked.

"Umm, actually I didn't know what you liked so I ordered pizza…Vegetarian of course…" Sara pointed to the large pizza box on the kitchen table. Grissom sat down on a seat directly across from Sara, he hated vegetarian but he figured he should be polite and eat a piece.

"So what did you find out about the vic?" Sara inquired as she picked off several black olives.

"The victim went by the name of Sherry Olmenoff, she was the daughter of Frank Olmenoff, the industrialist. The coroner found carpet fibers on her pants making her believe that she was dragged out of her home after she was hung. I agree that Sherry was placed in the Nouvelle's backyard but I just don't know why yet…"

"Well Mrs. Nouvelle definitely didn't commit murder, she has an alibi. She was out doing some shopping when the murder supposedly occurred. Several store clerks remember her. We're back to square one I suppose…" Sara allowed the information to sink in, jumping once more when a bolt of lightening hit the home. This time the force of the storm knocked out the power.

"Luckily we have candles…" Sara noted. She grabbed the dirty plates and placed them in the sink before turning back to Grissom. "You want to talk?…I mean, there's nothing else to do…" Grissom's brow furrowed as he knew very well what would be the topic of conversation.

"Alright Sara…" He walked over to the couch and motioned for her to join him. She made a tactful decision of sitting as far away from as possible to give him his space and allow him some room to think.

"Grissom…Umm…You must know already what I want to ask you…" Sara nervously fiddled with an oval necklace which lay dangerously close to the opening of her low cut black dress. His gaze focused on her neckline which showed way too much cleavage for his liking.

"Sara…You know that the answer is no…We can't be together." He snapped his attention back to her eyes which held the reflection of the candles burning from afar.

"Why not? You're telling me that you can just make love to me and forget about it…And then have the audacity to ask me to do the same…?" She was trying to keep her frustration bottled, she needed him to stay calm and think.

"Because Sara…That's the way it is, plain and simple." His eyes focused once more on her skin which held a radiant glow, he didn't know if it was from the candles or from the fact that she was in love. He could only hope it was because of the latter.

"Fine…" Sara tried taking a different approach to Grissom opening up to her. "You know I've told you a lot about my family but I haven't heard much about yours…Tell me something about your childhood…" The question made Grissom's heart lurch forward.

"I can't…" He swallowed hard waiting for Sara's next move.

"What is with you, Grissom? You expect me to open up to you, yet you won't do the same? You know so much about me, but you're still a mystery. Something has been bothering you since you took this operation! Just tell me what the hell is bothering you or else I'm going to Culpepper so that he can get it out of you!" Sara's yelling ceased as she got up angrily off of the couch and stood against the wall of the living room. Her face was flush from frustration as she waited for Grissom do to something…Anything. His anger couldn't be held in check any longer as he jumped off from the couch and approached Sara with rage gleaming in his eyes. He took one last look at Sara before slamming his fist through the wall above her head. Sara was stunned and unable to move as she watched Grissom's anger fuel second by second.

"Why can't you just leave it alone Sara…?" Grissom asked through gritted teeth.

"Because… 'I want to know why you're so angry.'" Sara quoted, trying not to allow Grissom see her knees shake in fear. She never saw him this angry, maybe she really should have just left him alone. As another bolt of lightening flashed, Grissom startled Sara by twisting her arm and throwing her forcibly back on the couch. The beat of rain and the sound of Sara's staggered breathing were the only sounds which filled their home. Not thinking straight, Grissom climbed on top of Sara, pinning her down beneath him.

"You want to know what it was like for my mother, in a home that you would fear to come home to every night?" Grissom's eyes were still black with rage as he continued to hold Sara down against her will. Sara cried out in pain as she struggled to be released from his grasp.

"Grissom! Stop, you're scaring me…" Her cries were not heard as Grissom's mind rein- acted his father's interplay with his mom.

"He would come home from work…And she would be too scared to fight back…Just like you…" Grissom's mind was no longer in the present as he continued to reflect on his father's abuse. Holding Sara's hand's tighter above her head he watched as the candle light danced on her skin, arousing him and tangling up with his anger.

"You want to know what it would be like to be the wife of Gil Grissom?" He whispered hoarsely into her ear before allowing his left hand to feel Sara up her skirt.

"Grissom please stop…" Sara cried. Her cries were useless as his mind blocked out all sound. He began to kiss her neck, sucking on her hard. A red mark formed on her skin. Pleased with his actions, he moved his tongue down to her chest. "You know you like it…"

"Griss stop…" Sara was unable to move as Grissom's grip was to strong. She began to shiver in fear as her repressed childhood memories of being raped started to bubble to the surface. "Stop it now…Please…" Tears fell down her face as another flash of lightening illuminated her face. Grissom's eyes were even more frightening in the light; they were as black as night- the color of his intensified anger.

"Shhh…" He held one hand over her mouth as he continued to feel up Sara's dress; stroking the inside of her thighs. As a memory of his mother's gown being torn to shreds flashed in his mind, he mimicked the image by tearing at Sara's. It tore too easily as Grissom relished in the sound of the fabric ripping at seams. Her chest was exposed, but that wasn't enough for him. He ripped the fabric harder until he was able to slide off the dress with ease. Sara was too scared to speak any longer, helpless and frightened of the depth of Grissom's anger and arousal.

Sara screamed as another flash of lightening hit, finally realizing what he had done. She began to fight with all of her power to get Grissom off of her, imagining him as the one who had raped her in the past. She tried to use the strength she never had before.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He whispered once more in her ear before cupping one of her breasts. "Just let it happen…" As one last roar of thunder hit the ground from afar Grissom finally snapped out of it as he locked on her eyes. Sara shook uncontrollably with fear as her pupils were wide from the severity of his actions. Not realizing what he had done Grissom got up from Sara, feeling a sense of panic over take him.

_"What the hell did I do?"_ Just as Grissom was about to explain, Sara jumped off of the

couch and ran into the bedroom, locking herself in.


	9. Chapter 9: Reality Sets In

**A/N**: Why can't they just be happy? I guess that wouldn't make fan fiction interesting then would it?

**Chapter 9**

_Reality Sets In_

After gathering his thoughts and taking a cold shower Grissom had to talk with her. He didn't even remember what he had done; his suppressed memories had clouded his thinking process. Judging from the fear in Sara's eyes and the ripped dress he had found on the floor, he had an idea of his actions.

_"Dear God, did I rape her?"_ When the flashes of his actions emitted behind his eyelids, he knew his dinner would visit him once more. Running to the bathroom he noticed that the bedroom door was now open. After flushing the toilet and gargling with water to wash out the taste of vomit he searched the home for Sara.

"Sara? Are you here…Please talk with me…Let me explain…" Grissom didn't expect for her to understand, he just needed to know what he had done. After searching the entire inside of the house he opened the front door to see Sara curled up in a ball rocking back and forth on their front steps. His stomach lurched once more at the sight of her cell phone and Culpepper's card gripped in her right hand.

_"She called him…That's good, I deserve to go to jail for what I have done…"_

"Sara?" Grissom questioned. He knelt down beside her and gently stroked her face. Sara flinched in response. Tears moistened the ground as Sara buried her head in her lap.

"Why…Grissom…I trusted you." Her voice cracked as she struggled to stop herself from shaking. The bruises on Sara's wrists made Grissom fear the worst.

"Honey…I don't know how to explain….I...Guess I'm exactly like my father." He sat right beside Sara on the cement steps, not trying to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

"What…" Sara looked up at Grissom for the first time since the struggle.

"My father would come home from work and would want some intimacy between him and my mom so he used to rape her…In front of me. He didn't even try to cover up what he was doing…He didn't care. I guess you're bound to end up in your parent's footsteps…A child sees their parents doing horrible things they eventually must know that they will one day end up like them…" He couldn't speak; he voice was clouded with too much sadness as he looked away from her gaze.

"I thought 'genes weren't a predictor of human behavior'…" Sara quoted once more, still shaking.

"Yeah…I never truly believed that." A tear finally rolled down his cheeks and joined a puddle of rain water at his feet.

"So I should just kill you then and get it over with?" Sara bitterly retorted as she ran up the steps and locked herself into the bedroom once more. Grissom picked up Culpepper's card and pressed the redial button on their phone. Thankfully the last number dialed was the pizza parlor. Throwing the items quickly to the ground, Grissom ran into the house and realized that the bedroom door was closed once more.

"Sara? Please come out…" Silence was Grissom's only response.

"Honey, I promise I won't hurt you, please just let me explain…" The noise of crickets filled the home.

"Sara …I just want you to know that you would never be like your mother….You're too sweet and forgiving. Please don't be scared…" Finally realizing that he wasn't going to get Sara out of the room he decided to sleep on the couch as it was the closest to the bedroom.

_"I'm sorry Sara..." _ Grissom held the torn dress in his hands as he cried himself to sleep.

_"You want to know what it would be like to be the wife of Gil Grissom?" _

_"Please Grissom… stop it…" _

_"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Grissom held Sara down with all his strength. Adding to Sara's pain Grissom transformed into another man who held even more rage then the entomologist. _

_"Hey baby… You turned me down three times for a date…I guess now I get one on my own?" The man started to bite Sara's neck as his hands slithered up her dress._

_Sara was unable to do anything, she was helpless as the man continued to rape her._

"Get off of me! Stop it!" Sara screamed, forcing Grissom to jump from the couch.

"Sara, are you alright?"

"Help!" Sara screamed once more. That was all it took. Fearing that the killer may have chosen his next victim Grissom broke down the door in one swift kick.

"Are you all right?" Grissom asked while searching around the bedroom.

"Get away from me…" Sara's voice held as much fear as it did last night.

"Please just give me a chance…" Sara leapt off of her bed in attempt to run but Grissom quickly grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" Sara yelled as she tried to struggle from his grasp.

"Listen to me Sara; I am not going to hurt you. I don't know what happened last night…But please just let me hold you…I need to show you how much I love you and how I'm not going to let anything happen to you again." Grissom's eyes were now filled with pain as he watched Sara push him away

"Why Grissom…Why would you do that…I trusted you…I loved you…" Sara exclaimed.

"I don't know…" Grissom whispered as he stepped closer to Sara.

"Get out Grissom…" Sara pointed to her doorway before Grissom could get any closer. He slowly exited the bedroom never looking back, his anger was non-existent as the feeling of dread settled into his system.

**TBC…**


	10. Chapter 10: Envy

**A/N**: Thanks once more to **Unspoken** for helping out once more during these chapter installments! Without you I would be lost, I'd be "Unbound" g. And a special thank you goes out once more to my beloved beta **Cybrokat**. I also tip my hat to my technical advisor for all things relating to Psychology- **Eliza**.

**Chapter 10**

Grissom woke from the couch in a sweaty mess, he didn't receive a wink of sleep and it showed. His age was starting to show after days of unrest, he avoided sleep at all costs. That is when the memories resurface, when the details become clearer. He had hurt Sara this was a fact, one which he wished would be erased. He didn't even turn towards the coffee maker, his first instinct was to check on Sara. He saw right away that her door was open. After peaking inside he feared the worst when he saw that her bed was neatly made with no sign of her insight. His heart raced as he ran out into the backyard to find that her standing against the garage, talking on the phone.

_"Culpepper?" _Grissom questioned as he inched closer towards her.

"No really you don't have to come down here I'm fine…I'm sure." Sara lied as she talked into the phone.

_"I thought she wasn't going to call..." _Grissom waited impatiently for Sara to hang up before he started questioning her actions.

"What the hell Sara? I thought we cleared everything up?" Grissom yelled as his fist was clutched tightly again to control his anger.

"What are you talking about Grissom?" Sara took several large steps backward to further her distance away from him.

"You called Culpepper on me didn't you? Do uou know what that could do to my reputation? To everything I've worked for?" Grissom's voice held a pang of rage which he struggled to control.

"Grissom, I didn't call Culpepper…"

"Don't lie to me Sara…" Grissom yelled as he took several steps towards her until she was cornered between him and the garage. He stared at her long enough for her to start crying as the memories from last night began to resurface.

"And what's going on here?" Agent Culpepper took off his glasses to examine the scene lying out towards him. Grissom gave Sara one last angry glare before walking calmly towards the FBI agent.

"Well I thought that since we were pretending to be married we might as well pretend to have a nice rowdy fight while we were at it." Grissom bitterly retorted as he tried to stare the Culpepper down.

"Uh huh. I'd like to hear Sidle's point of view as she is the one who looks uncomfortable." Culpepper approached Sara and she tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

"I'm fine Agent Culpepper." Sara exclaimed while she rolled back down her long sleeved shirt, shielding her bruises. Culpepper stared at a blue mark that refused to be hidden on her wrists.

"_And why would someone be wearing long sleeves in this Miami heat I wonder." _Culpepper thought as he continued to examine Sara for any other signs of abuse.

"You know Sara, you would tell me if something was going on between you and Mr. Grissom…Right?" Grissom held his breath as he waited to hear Sara respond.

"Agent Culpepper I am fine. I'm just tired from all the case work." Sara was beginning to become very well at lying as Culpepper gave her a nod.

"I just stopped by to see how things were going. If there is any progress in the case or anything ELSE you would like to talk about just call." Culpepper turned back to Grissom and made his way towards the door. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on you." He whispered back to the CSI before walking away.

Grissom finally drew in a breath when he realized that Culpepper was finally gone. He slowly approached Sara, hoping that she still wasn't scared.

"Sara, I would just like to thank you for not saying anything to Culpepper back there." Grissom leaned forward to kiss Sara's cheek and she immediately backed away. Feeling defeated, Grissom loomed towards the house and let Sara have her solitude. He could only hope that she could calm down and perhaps open up to him once more.

**Later that night**

Grissom read over the case files in hope of gaining a better understanding of the serial killer when the doorbell rang. Sara was inside her bedroom but quickly walked out when she heard someone at the door.

_"Who would be here at this time of night?" _Sara wondered as she opened the door. Her heart beat rapidly as to who was standing before her.

"Hey girl how are ya'?" Nick asked. He was rewarded with an overpowering hug from Sara. "Umm, hi to you too." Nick exclaimed. Sara continued to hug Nick even harder when Grissom got up from his seat.

"What are you doing here Nick?" Grissom now wondered if Sara had told the team about his actions.

"This week is my week of vacation remember? I'm staying in Miami for a couple of days, catching some rays for a bit…Ummm, I remembered you guys were doing an undercover Op in this place so I decided to stop by." Nick reached for Sara's hand when she quickly pulled out of his grasp.

"What's wrong Sara?" Nick asked as Sara held one of her bruised wrists. Trying to hide her injuries, Sara pushed down her sweater further, making Nick more curious by the second. Sara remained silent as she continued to look at Nick helplessly, she was too afraid to talk.

"Nothing is wrong with Sara Nick. So… if you could just get on your way." Grissom tried to corner Nick to the door but he refused to back down.

"No I want to know why Sara looks like she's scared of her mind Griss." Nick pushed Grissom aside and started to walk closer to Sara. He saw the darkness of the bruises on her wrist as her shirt slid up her arm once more. Nick wasn't getting a good gut feeling about this situation.

"Grissom where the hell did Sara get bruises on her wrists?" Nick demanded to know why Sara was in so much pain.

"I have no clue Nick why don't you ask her? You two have always held a certain rapport." Grissom glared once more at Nick before slumping back on the sofa to watch the two CSI's interact.

Nick put his arms protectively around Sara once more which made Grissom snap in anger. "Oh so now that I'm out of the trees I can almost see the forest." Grissom sarcastically quoted. "You two talk away! I'll just leave you alone." Jealously overpowered Grissom to the fullest extent as he slammed his bedroom door. The action made Sara jump and then start to cry.

"He scares you doesn't he? What has been going on Sara?" Nick calmly asked. Sara just wrapped her arms harder around Nick, using him as a shield from any potential danger.

"Everything is fine Nick." Sara remained in denial as she repeated the same mantra in her mind.

"Everything is not fine Sara. You have bruises on your arms and you're shaking. Did he do this?" Nick never imagined his quiet well mannered supervisor being capable of any violence, although Grissom did have many secrets.

"I got them cause I fell down the stairs." Sara lied knowing very well that Nick was smart enough to look past her fabricated stories.

"Yeah sure and the stairs just happened to leave bruises in the form of hands on both wrists." Nick rolled up Sara's sleeves exposing her injuries more clearly. Sara just remained silent, scared that Grissom would storm out of the bedroom unleashing his anger once more.

"Alright let's not talk right now…I'm taking you to dinner." Nick exclaimed as he grabbed Sara's jacket.

"I'm not hungry." Sara stated while still hovering extremely close to Nick. She followed him around like a lost puppy, very out of character for the independent co-worker he once worked with.

"You can have dessert then." Nick announced as he gently guided Sara outside and into his rented Mustang.

"You rented a Mustang Nick?" Sara managed to let out a laugh as Nick rolled down the hood.

"Ya' of course! I'm in Miami, I gotta live large and pick up the honeys!" Nick grinned as he made his way towards the restaurant.


	11. Chapter 11: Dinner for two

**Chapter 11**

**FBI Headquarters, Miami**

"Here you go Sir, the last of Dr. Grissom's records." The young brunette in a conservative business suit flopped down the folders in front of Agent Culpepper, receiving a grin in return.

"Now let's see what our Dr. Grissom is hiding…"Culpepper exclaimed out loud before cracking his knuckles to begin searching through folders.

"Come on Sara! Order something!" Nick poked her gently before she finally made up her mind.

"Alright I'll have the Rigatoni Pomodoro." Sara folded her menu and finally gave Nick a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I like to see. So Sara you gotta open up to me and tell me what's going on. I can help if I just know what you're scared of. Has Grissom been hurting you in anyway?" He could tell that the question made her uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat.

"No Nick I told you how I got the bruises." Sara began to nervously pick at the napkin in front of her, avoiding Nick's stare.

"No way are you getting away this easily. Sara you always tell women in abuse cases to speak up or nothing can change. Take your own advice, if someone were hurting you why wouldn't you come forward?" Nick knew for certain that Grissom did something to Sara, everything fell into place. She was sympathizing for her attacker; she still loved him and didn't want to hurt him despite all the pain he has already caused her.

"Don't try to protect him he doesn't care about you Sara if he's hurting you."

"No It's not like that…" Sara winced as she realized she gave more for Nick to speculate on.

"So there is something going on?" Nick demanded. Sara bit her lip to hold back the tears which clouded her vision. Actions spoke louder then words. Sara shielded her face with her hands as she let out all the fear and anxiety she had been experiencing in the last few days into one emotional outburst.

"He didn't mean to do anything. It was all my fault, I kept on pushing him to tell me, but he was too scared." Sara cried.

"Tell you what Sara?"

"To tell me what happened to his father. It wasn't his fault…He didn't do it on purpose." Sara sobbed.

Culpepper rustled through several more folders before finding what he was searching for.

"James Grissom, Father of Gil Grissom…"

"What about his Father Sara?" Nick tried to hold Sara's hand but she flinched once more in response.

Sara took a deep breath before continuing.

"He…"

"Was arrested for the rape of four women? Was released from prison eight months ago?" Culpepper strained his eyes further by looking for more clues in Grissom's past.

"Used to be subjected to his Father's abuse. His father even went as far as raping his mother right in front of him. He was just a child, now he just thinks that his genes are catching up with him." Sara's whimpers grew louder as Nick managed to hold Sara's hand gently.

"And are they Sara?"

"I can't believe…"

"Grissom was arrested when he was seventeen with charges of abuse? His record was cleared when he turned eighteen. Charges were never formally filed. Interesting." Culpepper smiled as he began to dig further in the piles of folders.

"…He would hurt me. It's just not like him. He didn't mean to, I did it to him Nick. You have to believe me." Sara looked at Nick with helplessness as he immediately pulled out his cell phone.

"Did he rape you Sara? Is this what you're trying to tell me?" Nick was ready to dial the police when Sara closed his flip phone.

"You can't tell anyone about this, and no he didn't." She brushed away a tear, trying to remain calm.

"But he was close to doing it wasn't he?" Nick was offered no response.

"Sandra get me the number for a Mr. James Grissom and where he is staying pronto. I'm gonna find the source of the problem to discover the truth." Culpepper grinned once more before slamming closed another folder.

Sara bowed her head down in submission, not being able to lie to Nick any longer. There was no way Nick would be staying at a hotel tonight. If Sara had to sleep under the same roof as Grissom he wanted to make sure she was safe.

"I'm staying with you tonight. And you don't have a choice in the matter. I don't want you to be alone with him roaming around the house." Nick watched Sara's frown grow greater.

"Yes but I don't want to make anything worse. I mean I don't want to be alone you're right, but I also don't want you to get hurt." Sara leaned in closer towards Nick.

"Sara if worse comes to worse and God forbid…I'm packing." Nick pointed to the gun in his holster.

"No Nick he's not going to do anything, he wouldn't. What he did was just because he was experiencing past memories he tried to forget."

"Yeah OK but just incase, you don't have to worry about being protected." Nick tried to force a smile as the waiter delivered the meals. "Now let's try to eat." Nick's beeper made him jump just as he was about to dive into his fettuccini. "I'll be right back Sar it's the lab"

"Working while miles away from home?" Sara curiously asked.

"Yeah you know Cath she likes to keep an eye on her troops. I'll be right back." Nick walked quickly into the lobby and opened his cell phone to call Warrick.

"Hey War it's me."

"So how is she you said she sounded upset over the phone."

"Yeah she has every right to be…" Nick messed up his hair as he waited for Warrick to begin his questioning.

"What do you mean?"

"Sara has bruises on her wrists."

"What?"

"Yeah I know what you mean bro."

"And I hope you found out how she got her injuries." Warrick replied.

"Yeah she was a little reluctant since Grissom was involved." Nick allowed for the information to sink in. "And there's more but I don't think I should be betraying her confidence so if anything else comes up I'll call."

"Hey Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful…"

"Yeah will do." Nick closed his phone and headed back to his table.

_"I just can't wait to get my hands on Grissom." _Nick thought as he began eating his dinner once more.


	12. Chapter 12: Love is a Funny Thing

**Chapter 12**

Grissom forced himself to relax by trying to indulge in a crossword. Usually he did his work in pen but with the way his mind has been strained lately he worked in pencil.

_"Five letter word_ _to_ _hurt or injured by maltreatment." _ Grissom's head began to ache as the answer came to his mind. _"Abuse." _ Grissom slammed the crossword down on the table in anger. He took several pain relievers as he sat and stared at the wall in silence.

"_What is Nick doing with her this long?"_ Grissom's jealousy finally got to him once more as he got up from the sofa and began to pace the floor. Flashes of Nick on top of Sara making love to her turned his stomach upside down.

_"No they're like siblings not lovers…But I have been wrong about things before." _ Grissom's cell phone knocked him back to reality. His eyes bulged at the name on the screen.

"Grissom." He answered with a sigh.

"Grissom what the hell is going on?" Catherine demanded.

"What do you mean Catherine?" Grissom honestly had no idea what Catherine was referring to.

"Like you don't know. Sara has bruises on her wrists I hear? How the hell did they get there Gil? I know you have anger problems I'm the only one who knows, but…Jesus, you take it out on Sara out of all people?" The silence which hung in the air between the two colleagues did not refute Catherine's anger. "Answer me NOW Gil or I'm calling Culpepper."

"I don't know what happened Cath and that's the truth. One minute she's talking about our relationship and the next I'm on top of her. All I remember is her crying and…" Grissom was immediately cut off.

"What did you do?" Catherine demanded. "You out of all people know about Sara's past! You just had to make her remember huh? Did you have sex with her?"

"I don't think that's none of your business Catherine and frankly I don't feel like talking right now." Grissom yelled into the phone before turning it off.

_"Sara told everyone?"_ Grissom began to clench his fist before hitting the living room wall. A noise from outside made him jump. Nick's car pulled into the driveway, and he could see Sara whisper something into his ear before climbing out of the vehicle. The gesture fueled Grissom's jealousy. Sara wasn't even able to turn her keys into the lock before Grissom opened the door and grabbed her inside.

"Who the hell did you tell Sara?" Grissom demanded.

"What?" Sara immediately began to tremble as she saw the same rage fill Grissom's eyes as last night.

"Stop fucking lying to me Sara." He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her straight in the eye. "Who else knows besides Catherine? Does your new boyfriend know?"

"Nick figured it out for himself." Sara began to tremble once more as she realized she couldn't escape.

"Yeah right, of course. Nicky Stokes can figure anything out."

"Grissom let me go." Sara started to struggle harder from Grissom's grasp.

"Fine whatever you say." Grissom threw Sara forcibly to the ground just as Nick banged open the door.

"Grissom! What the hell are you doing?" Nick ran over to Sara who was still trembling on the ground.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing Nick." Grissom replied as he watched Nick pull Sara closer. Envy filled his veins.

"Get the hell away from me!" Sara shouted as Grissom approached closer.

"Yeah right and leave you two alone I suppose? Fine. I'm guessing you're staying Nick."

"You better believe it." Nick retorted.

"Alright, just so you know she loves to be kissed on her neck." Grissom stated before walking into his bedroom and slamming the door in fury.

"You alright Sara?" Nick continued to comfort Sara as her trembles slowly diminished.

"No." Sara stroked her arm where Grissom had grabbed her minutes ago.

"Yeah well don't worry I'm staying with you the entire night. Where do you sleep?" Sara pointed to the room across from Grissom's.

"Uh huh. We'll be locking the doors tonight, he can't get in. Tomorrow I'm calling Culpepper about this. There's no way you can continue this mission with the way things are going. Grissom needs help Sara. He's let his anger control him, he doesn't know where it stops and where it begins."

"My father was like that I guess it runs in the family to pick the abusive boyfriend huh?" Sara somberly stated as she got up from the ground with Nick's aid.

"Sara, no one would have thought Grissom was capable of this something triggered his anger." Nick led Sara to the bedroom.

"Yeah it was me."

"No one is at fault but Grissom. You can't blame yourself for everything." Nick guided Sara into the bedroom and closed the door and locked it behind him. Grissom was well aware of what was going on as he looked through the lock hole in his bedroom. He contemplated on going over to the room and knocking on the door but his logical side finally kicked in.

_"__Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret._" Grissom's quote he remembered from an American hierarchiologist Dr. Laurence J. Peter was able to calm his nerves. He couldn't understand where his logical side had ventured off to these past days but he was comforted to know it had returned.

In the middle of the night Grissom just couldn't take it anymore. He leapt off of his bed and quietly opened his door.

"I have to know what is going on in there my sanity depends on it." Grissom slowly walked down the hall and made his way to Sara's bedroom. He forced one of his eyes to look inside the keyhole to see if the two CSI's were in fact just sleeping. His eyes grew wide as he saw Nick wrap his arm around Sara protectively. She looked up at him and smiled before kissing him on his forehead. The action disgusted Grissom to the highest degree.

"_I think I've seen enough._" Grissom thought as he made his way back to his room.

"Can't sleep?" Nick asked.

"No I'm just glad you're here with me, it's nice to have an older brother taking care of me." Sara smiled as Nick started to laugh.

"Yeah I guess I've always thought about us as siblings, I mean at first I had the hots for you." Nick blushed as Sara playfully smacked his arm.

"Really? Like I hadn't noticed!" Sara rolled her eyes.

"You know Sara, now's the time to talk about anything you want to get off your chest. I'm not going anywhere."

"I guess I'm just suffering from a broken heart more then anything Nicky." Sara sighed as she remembered the first night Grissom and her shared together in their "home".

"Yeah but you can't stay with him Sara, not when he's like this." Nick said seriously.

"Nick do you think he still loves me?" Nick closed his eyes to her question.

"Sara ever since I first saw you two together I knew you were meant for each other, I thought Grissom would protect your from danger not become the danger. So I don't know anymore." Nick held Sara's hand as she began to cry.

"I still do Nick, no matter how many times he tries to hurt me I still love him. It won't go away." Sara sobbed as several tears landed on her pillow.

"Yeah love is a funny thing…But think of it this way, do you want to love a man who gets turned on by hurting you?" Nick asked.

"No It's not like that Nick. He becomes a different person when I talk about his father. It's like all the repressed memories are consuming his thoughts, it's as if every time when he becomes the slightest bit angry his father's personality takes over."

"Then he needs help Sara, we have to tell someone." Nick urged.

"No I'm not risking his career because he had a bad childhood. What if the same thing were to happen to me? No, we'll get him help after we catch the killer and no one will know about this. We have to keep this confidential or else it could hurt his career." Sara was determined to not give up on Grissom. He went through pain as a child just like she did and she was not about to give up on him just yet. Sara will just have to make sure she keeps Grissom from getting angry.


	13. Chapter 13: Hurt

**Chapter 13**

Nick led Sara to the kitchen, unaware of who was presently sitting at the table. Grissom frowned in response to the two CSI's entering the room hand in hand.

"I trust you slept well Nick." Grissom growled as his eyes continued to glare at the couple.

"Not really, I was worried for Sara." Nick retorted, continuing to hold Sara's hand. Grissom quickly changed the subject.

"We need to look over more evidence relating to that homicide at the Nouvelle's Sara, it's the freshest case we've got, it could give us some leads." He thought a business-like approach would shift the awkwardness which filled the room. He was wrong.

"I don't think Sara is ready to work with you just yet Grissom. Quite frankly, I told her to give up on the case and to go back home. I guess she still somehow has faith in you to deny my request." Both men were surprised when Sara broke out of Nick's embrace.

"I just want to help out with the case, to catch the guy who's doing this. After that, we can go our separate ways." Sara looked down at the floor and tried to hide from Grissom's reaction.

"Oh I see. Mr. Right has come along and swept you off your feet?" Grissom shot his eyes at Nick and tried to keep his anger in check.

"Grissom, give it up." Sara sighed.

"What made you change your mind Sara? Was it his stunning good looks or his cute little ass that did you in?" Grissom was beginning to feel the familiar sense of rage swirl through out his body as Nick stepped forward incase his boss over reacted.

"How about it was because I am scared out of my mind to work with you let alone be intimate!" Sara replied, not holding back any of her anger as she watched Grissom's expression change.

"Sara…" Grissom sadly sighed.

"No I don't care what you have to say. You can't change what you did and I can never forgive you." Sara ran out of the room before Grissom could see her cry.

"I can't believe I used to look up to you. Any man would be grateful to have a woman like Sara. I just don't know who you are anymore." Nick exclaimed. After taking one last foul look at Grissom he walked away to comfort Sara.

"It's OK, you're going to be alright. Sara you don't have to finish this assignment, once Culpepper finds out about what's been going on he's not going to expect you to stay." Nick held Sara and waited for her whimpers to seize.

"No Nick I may hate him for what he did but I don't want him to lose his job." Sara continued to hide her head in Nick's chest wishing her pain would be taken away by his comfort.

"You know I can't stay here forever, If you are going to carry out this mission it just wouldn't work." Nick replied.

"You could be my little brother who's just visiting here for a while until we get settled in." Sara smiled.

"I don't think that would go down well with Culpepper and his friends at the FBI. I just don't feel comfortable with leaving you here by yourself with 'you know who' pursing the home." Nick bitterly exclaimed.

Grissom hid outside Sara's room barely getting a view of the couple. He listened closely and his heart lurched at their conversation.

"Is it so bad to hate someone so much you begin to wish they were dead?" Sara cried.

"Sara after being attacked the way you were I wouldn't blame you. Hate is a normal emotion in your situation."

"I'm moving back to San Francisco Nick, after the case. I just can't be reminded of him anymore. Of what he's capable of." Sara tried to calm down, trying to regain the sense of strength she had earlier.

"I'm gonna miss you but I know it's best. I'm scared of him too. Warrick and Cath are the only other ones who know and I don't think they're gonna stick around that much longer either." Nick held Sara close as he tried to calm her down. Grissom stood stunned in the hallway.

_"What have I become?"_ Grissom thought as he walked into his bedroom and turned on the radio to block out the rest of the world around him.

_"What have I become? My sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end…  
You could have it all…My empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt_."

As Grissom listened to the lyrics he felt a tear roll down his cheek as he looked at himself in his mirror with disgust. As he continued to gaze into the mirror his reflection quickly morphed into his Father's. The man sneered as he continued to look at Grissom with a sense of pride.

"I told you son you were gonna end up just like me." The man laughed.

"No I'm not like this. I'm better then this. Mom taught me to treat others with respect, she made me who I am today." Grissom shouted at the mirror.

"NO! I'm the one who made you who you are today and don't you ever forget it." Grissom smashed the mirror with his fist and his Father's laughter finally stopped. The radio drained out the noise as the lyrics continued to echo through out his empty bedroom. Drips of blood continued to fall to the floor, but Grissom remained hypnotized on the smashed mirror which once held his Father's aura.

_"On my liar's chair, full of broken thoughts I cannot repair. Beneath the stain of time,  
the feeling disappears. You are someone else… I am still right here."_

**Later that day**

"You sure you're alright here by yourself?" Nick questioned Sara for the hundredth time as he grabbed his bag.

"Yes Nick. I have your cell number and I will promise to call you everyday or the minute I need help." Sara smiled at Nick's protectiveness. She was confident Grissom was not going to hurt her again; he seemed rather distant since this morning.

"Remember, I'm just three miles away in my hotel. Please be careful Sara. With Grissom and the case. I read that this killer is relentless and his evaded the police for months now."

"Yeah well the faster I solve this the faster I move away from the lab. As much as I'm going to miss you guys I have to move on." Sara gave Nick one last hug before shutting the door behind her. The air conditioning cooled her face which held a trace amount of perspiration from the intense heat from the afternoon sun.

"_Where did Grissom go I don't remember him ever leaving."_ Sara wondered as she sat down and pursued through the case files, trying to clear her thoughts from the past few days of stress. A knock on the door reflected her attention once more.

"_Nick must have forgotten something." _ Sara noted as she swung open the door.

"Sidle I need to talk with you and your supervisor." Culpepper walked right through the doorway, not even waiting for a sign that he could enter. He began to take note of the damage done to the living room; several holes in the far wall caught his attention.

"How was this done Sidle?" Culpepper forcibly asked.

"I uhh don't know…" Sara stumbled over her words waiting for Culpepper to notice that the spare bedroom door was knocked down. Nick didn't even bother to ask about it knowing probably what her answer would be. Nick and Sara were forced to sleep in the guest room as all the rest of the rooms on the upper level were in use to store their lab equipment.

"What the hell is going on Sidle? Holes in walls? Knocked down doors…The bruises on your wrists? This isn't looking good for Grissom."

"What are you talking about? The holes were from an experiment we were testing on plaster. We plan on fixing the damage by the way. And the door was from Grissom believing I was being attacked by the serial killer. I went to bed early one night and out of habit I locked my door and when I had a nightmare Grissom broke it down." Sara nervously replied. She tried to hide her bruises but there was no point as she was wearing a short sleeved shirt, not expecting any visitors.

"I'm not buying it. From Grissom's wrap sheet it seems like violence is not an irregularity. He was arrested when he was seventeen for the abuse of his girlfriend, she was found in her dorm with a bruise on the side of her face. Charges were eventually dropped." Culpepper watched Sara's face turn pale with the news.

"So he has abused women in his past?" Sara questioned.

"Probably more, who knows how many haven't come forward. Listen I don't need to be a CSI to figure out what has been going on here. I know Grissom has been abusing you and I will do everything in my power to get him arrested and charged." Culpepper tried to put a hand on Sara's shoulder but she quickly flinched.

"No he hasn't done anything wrong. You can't charge him unless I press charges. Nothing has been going on so I'm not going to have him arrested. I need him on the case." Sara lied for him one last time knowing very well if Grissom tried anything again she would change her mind.

"Fine but I'm still going to question him about it Protocol, you know that better then anyone. Where is Dr. Grissom by the way?"

"I'm right here." Grissom solemnly replied, not looking at Sara.

_"Why is she protecting me? I deserve to lose everything for what I did."_ Grissom thought.

"Come on we're just gonna chat at the station for a bit Dr. Grissom. We need to clarify a couple of things." Culpepper took note of a deep gash which wounded the CSI's right hand. Grissom quickly walked ahead of Culpepper and out of the door. Sara was left alone to contemplate on the days ahead and what her future will be like without the man she loves and hates.


	14. Chapter 14: Shadows in the Dark

**Chapter 14**

_"Since when were you interested in beauty?" "Since I met you…"_

_"Chalk…From plaster…"_

_"…Honey this doesn't look good…"_

Sara tossed and turned as all the memories over the past five years between her and Grissom flooded her memory.

_"Honey, are we going too fast… I don't want to do anything you're not ready for."_

_"Sara…You know that the answer is no…We can't be together."_

_"You want to know what it would be like to be the wife of Gil Grissom?"_

As Sara continued to move around restlessly on the couch a shadow approached closer and closer, moving without a sound. Glide after glide, the dark figure moved towards the couch with ease. Eventually, a small creek finally escaped from beneath his gentle footsteps making him swear under his breath. Sara popped up in response. Scared that Grissom may be back with more anger to vent, she placed the blanket up to her nose knowing very well it had no real security.

"Who's there?" Sara called out, wishing she could turn on a light.

"Hello, I hope I haven't frightened you. Earlier I saw a police car outside and I was worried that you were in some sort of trouble." The elderly gentleman raised an eyebrow before sitting gracefully down on the couch next to Sara. "You look quite shaken up my dear." His blue eyes appeared black as the darkness of the room still cast a shadow over his face.

"Oh, you're the man I saw at the party. I never quite caught your name." Sara asked.

"Names are just formalities my dear, I prefer to remain a mystery until the mood arises where I can avail myself. Don't you think romance in this day and age is lacking a bit of mystery?" The man stroked his beard out of habit.

"With my husband some things I just don't want to know." Sara took her hands out of the blanket and placed them at her sides. He noticed the bruises right away.

"You know in some counties spousal abuse is legal. The men of the countries believe that male domination is necessary in the home life in order to maintain order and prevent chaos." He raised his eyebrow once more before taking Sara's hand and stroking it gently.

"And you believe this?" Sara was shocked that someone could approve at such an outlandish belief.

"I don't disregard such behavior. The man needs to be in control, it's been that way for centuries. If a man's most prized possession disobeys his wishes or makes him angry, there should be consequences." Sara continued to stare at the elderly gentleman in disbelief as he started to draw closer to her lips. "I've seen many women in my day, but you are the finest of all." He lurched forward pressing his lips hard on Sara's. Sara immediately pushed him off of her.

"Get out!" Sara demanded.

"I take it you disapprove of my actions?"

"You want me to call the police?" Sara yelled once more, climbing off of the couch and opening the front door.

"Fine I know when to take a hint." The man left and slammed the door angrily behind him.

Sara felt dirty, there was no other word to describe it. She ran to the bathroom and swished her mouth out with some Listerine, hoping it would wipe the pain away as well. She started to believe she was much like a stripper, attracting men with her looks and giving them a sample of what they could never have. Knowing that mouth wash could never suffice, she turned on the shower and took off all her clothes. As she stepped under the showerhead the cold water slowly began to cool her nerves. The steady stream of water beating down on her chest felt incredibly intoxicating as she began to close her eyes.

Grissom walked through the front door and turned on several lights. He noticed the blanket on the floor and he had figured Sara had already gone to bed. Rubbing his head in response to the headache overpowering his consciousness, Grissom approached the bathroom hoping a shower would take away his pain. He had run out of pills and the drug store was closed. Opening the door without thinking Grissom was struck with the sight of a naked Sara standing under a jet of water. He remained in a trance as he slowly walked closer to the shower not taking his eyes off of her. It took several seconds for Sara to react, she was still in shock. Slowly trying to cover herself, she tried to speak, but her heart felt like it jammed in her throat. Grissom's eyes focused on her breasts which seemed even more enticing when drenched in water. His gazed continued down to her ass where it remained as he made one last step to the entrance of the shower.

His memories drifted back to the night they first made love, her scent everywhere overpowering his senses. Her moans of delight as he took hold of her, never did he forget to pleasure every square inch of her being. As his eyes met the black and blue marks of her bruises he felt his arousal quickly turn to fear.

"God Sara I'm sorry." Grissom let the words slip from his mouth accidentally as he continued to look at Sara. The fear in her eyes remained.

"Get out Grissom." Sara quietly asked.

"Please just give me another chance." His voice was slightly drained out from the water that continued to beat down over her body.

"You're all out of chances." She solemnly exclaimed.

"I can't make it up to you?" Grissom surprised Sara by climbing into the shower fully clothed. His clothes quickly became soaked as he remain focused on her, hoping that she would find it in her heart to forgive him.

"Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it forever." Sara somehow managed to surmise a quote even under the circumstances. Before their mission, she had been reading up on different quotes to snap at Grissom in hope of impressing him. Ironically she was using her knowledge now to make Grissom back off rather then get closer.

"'Tis the most tender part of love, each other to forgive." Grissom forced a smile, combating Sara's quote just like old times. He touched her face and for the first time she didn't pull away. "I'm sorry Sara…For everything. Believe me when I say that I don't know what's happening to me." A tear escaped his eye but was unnoticed as several other drops of water landed beside it. His show of emotion didn't even make Sara feel a sliver of sympathy.

"I can't do this anymore Grissom." Sara abruptly climbed out of the shower, grabbed a towel and left Grissom drenched in the pain that he created.


	15. Chapter 15: The Black Box

**A/N: **Thanks again once more to **Unspoken** and to **LN**. You guys rock my socks! And thanks to everyone for leaving such wonderful reviews.

**Chapter 15**

**Two days Later**

"I'm sorry Agent Culpepper but the address search you requested on a James Grissom came up unknown. He's either hiding behind an illegal name change or he's just simply dead." The young agent patted Culpepper on the back before walking back to her secretary desk.

"Damn it, I know there is something going on. There's just not enough evidence to charge Grissom with assault without Sidle filing against him. Perhaps I will pay the young CSI a visit when her headstrong supervisor isn't around." Culpepper smiled to himself as he began to dial Sara's number.

"Gil hasn't done anything. The real person you have to be checking up on is the serial killer that has been stalking, raping and torturing over twenty women in one neighborhood. I suggest you stop working on your personal vendettas and start chasing the real criminal or else you may be out of a job." The Assistant Director walked away as Culpepper broke a pencil in anger.

Grissom folded up a note in the form of a paper airplane and flew it across the living room where it eventually landed neatly in Sara's lap. He went back to reading over some case files and completing his psychological analysis on the killer, pretending to not have been apart in the creation of the plane.

Trying not to look amused, Sara unfolded the plane to find a note written in red crayon. A red heart filled the page with a small line of text in the middle of the drawing.

"Will you please accompany me to dinner tonight? Please circle 'yes' or 'no'." For the first time in the past three days Sara forgot about Grissom's anger. She continued to stare and grin at the adolescent-like scribbles that were far from his usual studious hand writing. Sara circled her choice before folding up the paper and making it into an aviation creation that Howard Hughes would have been proud of. She gently pushed the plane into the air and it swiftly hit Grissom in the head.

"Oops sorry." Sara bit back her giggle as Grissom seriously unfolded her creation. The answer must have been the right one when Grissom looked up at Sara with a glimmer in his eye.

"Pick you up at seven in your room?" Grissom whispered.

"Alright." Sara walked over to her room to get ready for the evening, after all she only had one hour to get ready for the occasion.

_"You could have another chance after all. Now don't go and screw this up. Nothing is going to make you angry. What could go wrong at dinner? Just relax and breathe." _Grissom took several deep breaths as he walked into his bedroom and studied his closet for the perfect thing to wear to dinner.

**Later in the evening**

"_Sara he's all nice and innocent now but that doesn't hide what he did to you. He's trying to get a second chance, are you ready to give him one?"_ As Sara thought about the question posed to her she felt lightly nauseated. Believing that her veggie burger for lunch may have contained a little too much spice, she ran to the bathroom a little too late. As Sara threw up on the floor, Grissom heard her painful breaths as she tried to calm her stomach down.

"Honey are you OK?" Grissom gently asked. He walked inside the room to find Sara hunched over in pain, hugging the toilet.

"Grissom I don't want you in here." Sara gasped before being sick once more.

"Why is that?" He bit his lip waiting for her response.

"Cause I smell like throw up and the last thing you want to see right now is vomit before dinner." Grissom knelt down beside Sara even though it was against her wishes.

"Sara we don't have to go anywhere tonight." Grissom rubbed her back as she continued to loom over the toilet.

"But you want to go. I…"

"No Sara we're not going anywhere with you like this. You should be going to the hospital not to eat calamari." The thought of food made Sara's stomach turn once more as she threw up the rest of her previous meal. She tried with all her strength to push herself up off the floor, but failed miserably as she flew back and hit her head on the toilet.

"Sara don't move you're not strong enough." Grissom scooped Sara up into his arms without any hesitation and walked to her bedroom. Her arms hung around Grissom's neck as she tried to balance herself. "I feel so safe but…" Sara's eyes turned black as the memory of Grissom's anger flooded her mind. "How do I know when you're not just going to…" His eyes locked with hers.

"_Snap?"_ Grissom responded in his mind. "Sara, I want you to have something." Grissom placed her as gently as he could in her bed before tucking her in under her comforter like a sick child home from school. He quickly disappeared only for a moment before bringing in a black box and placing it on her lap.

"What's this?" Sara questioned as she slowly began to open the lid, Grissom smacked the box closed again before she was able to examine its contents.

"This is my promise to you that I will never hurt you again." With that statement Grissom remained standing as Sara took off the lid. A tear came to her eye as she stared down at the present. The thought of ever using his gift made her stomach do flips.

"A gun?" As the tears in her eyes clouded her vision, she failed to see Grissom shake as he summoned up enough courage to explain.

"It's my mother's, she gave it to me when I was eight incase my father ever tried to attack me and she wasn't there to protect me. I know it seems wrong for a mother to give her son such a gesture. Nonetheless, it gave me a sense of security knowing I had defense against someone much more powerful. I never used it. Ironic isn't it?" Grissom placed Sara's hand on the surface of the gun allowing her to feel the cold metal against her warm skin. She remained stunned as he rubbed her hand with his thumb while keeping her grip over the weapon.

"No Grissom I would never, no matter what happened." Steady streams of tears flowed from her eyes at the thought of Grissom dying from her own actions.

"Promise me Sara if I ever get out of control again and you're in danger shoot me. If I still don't stop then put me out of my misery. I can't live with the thought of hurting you again." Grissom held Sara's hand a little tighter as he waited for her response.

"No Grissom there are other ways. You just need help! Someone has to be able to help you." Sara cried.

"Please, if you still have the slightest bit of love in your heart for me, promise that you'll use this. Please." Grissom begged once more. Sara looked away from Grissom's gaze not being able to look the man who she still loved in the eye. She didn't bother to hold back another round of tears as she said the words which broke her heart.

"I promise." Sara stuttered as she grabbed Grissom into a hug she wished that could never end. In each other's arms they were safe, even if it were just for one moment in time. They had each other; Sara could only hope it would stay that way.


	16. Chapter 16: Unfeasible

**Chapter 16**

"I had to call. It's about the mission." Culpepper kept his voice authoritative as he talked with Grissom over the phone.

"Has another murder occurred Agent Culpepper?" Grissom gripped his pencil as he waited for the word to investigate another crime scene.

"No the Director believes that you two may have scared off the killer. He's requesting for you to return to your lab tomorrow. We will make travel arrangements for a flight tomorrow evening." Culpepper sighed as he fiddled with a paper holder.

"I know we haven't been able to find anything substantial, but if you would just give me a chance." Grissom was immediately cut off.

"I think if you weren't focused on beating up CSI Sidle you may have been able to find something 'substantial' Mr. Grissom." Culpepper bitterly exclaimed.

"You have nothing to back that claim up Culpepper." Grissom sneered.

"I don't need to have some flimsy forensics degree to know when a low life is beating up a woman." Culpepper yelled.

"At least I don't bait human beings in operations which may go awry! Thank God you didn't have the audacity to suggest another ludicrous mission to my CSI."

"Who says I didn't? This whole mission was based on the idea that Sidle would be bait for the killer. He hasn't fallen into our trap so that's why we're ending this. You were just a tag along to make everything seem authentic." Culpepper laughed.

"You son of a bitch! You risked my wife's life so that you could catch one of the most dangerous serials in the United States?" Grissom clenched his fist trying to restrain his anger once more.

"Your wife? Well then Mr. Grissom, who is getting carried away now?" Culpepper hung up the phone after making his final rebuttal.

"Who was that?" Sara asked.

"That was Culpepper. He wants us on a flight back to Vegas tomorrow evening." Grissom brushed back his hair as he thought about his 'slip up'.

"We haven't even made a dent in the case!" Sara protested.

"I guess you can't win them all. I think its good idea to begin moving on. Don't you agree?" Grissom kept his distance as he struggled to compose himself. Why would he refer to Sara as his wife? This was all just a game, nothing was real. Except for the harsh reality of his anger being unleashed on the one woman he loves. He had become what he dreaded the most, undoing his actions was a whole other ballgame. He still had to prove to Sara his anger was gone.

"Grissom you told me never to rush a case…" Sara quoted.

"What do you do, tape everything I say?" Grissom managed a faint smile as he was hit with another feeling of deja'vu

"Sara I was thinking since it was our last night here…I was…What I mean to say is…" Grissom blushed at his fumbling of words. Whenever Sara was in his presence he felt like a teenager all over again; minus the pimples.

"How does eight sound? I'll try not to throw up on you this time." Sara grinned once more as she walked away from Grissom leaving him stunned. Her giddiness quickly wore off as she felt her stomach cramp in pain. Immediately feeling nauseated, she ran to the restroom and locked the door behind her. This time she didn't want Grissom to see her. As she reacquainted herself with this morning's breakfast, she tried to figure out what could be making her sick.

"_I'm not allergic to pineapple and whole wheat bagels. Whatever I ate for breakfast could not be aiding in my sickness. What is wrong with me?"_

Deciding that a trip to the local drug store may help her sickness, Sara quietly walked out of the bathroom and exited the home from the side door. The drug store was just at the top of the street which proved to be extremely convenient in her case. As she walked the short distance, she took note of her neighbor's elaborate flower displays. Roses, sunflowers and other tropical plants greeted her from almost every front lawn.

"_Popular flower choices in Miami I suppose."_ Sara thought as she approached the store.

The smell similar to a hospital floated in the air as Sara entered Walgreens. Each one of her steps had a purpose, she needed something to combat her sickness. She didn't want to be stuck in bed and miss another opportunity to find out what could be going on with Grissom. Somehow after all the terrible things he had done to her she still loved him. She may never be able to truly forgive him unless she could find out why he was acting the way he was. There had to be a reason, something was clouding his judgment. Never had she seen Grissom so out of control in the last week; she knew it had something to do with his emotions which he had always kept hidden from the public eye. He had burst like an aerosol can flamed under pressure. However, just like the can, something had to have been a trigger in his outbursts. A drug store clerk quickly brought Sara out of her thoughts.

"Excuse me Miss but you look lost." The friendly woman in a white lab coat looked at her with concern noting the bruises on her wrists before quickly looking away.

"Umm…I was just here looking for something for my upset stomach." Sara rubbed it once more as she felt her stomach rumble from hunger. She had thrown up everything she ate recently, leaving her with very little nourishment.

"May I ask what kind of stomach discomfort you may be experiencing?" The clerk asked.

"Every morning I throw up at seven A.M just like clockwork. I have been experiencing some sharp pains below my stomach just before and after I am sick." Sara winced once more in pain as another stabbing sensation hit her hard.

"Do you have any doubt in your mind that you could be pregnant Miss?" The clerk watched Sara's face turn pale.

"No its impossible…The doctors told me that I was physically incapable of having kids…I had an…accident which left too much scar tissue to conceive." Sara fought back the images which were beginning to resurface.

"_Looking good for a fourteen year old, you must wanna do more tonight then just go to a movie huh?"_

"Miss?" The clerk made Sara jump as she was grounded once more back to reality. "If you don't mind me asking, have you had unprotected sex in the last month?" The question made Sara sick, she merely nodded her head to the woman unable to speak.

"Then I suggest picking up this." The clerk took a home pregnancy test off of the display and handed it to the young CSI before walking away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I am not pregnant. It's impossible. It's just not possible." Sara felt minutely safe as she continued to repeat her mantra to herself. Somehow she made it back home in a blink of an eye, she didn't even remember walking the small stretch of sidewalk or seeing the flowers in bloom. Everything now seemed oblivious to her. Sara continued to stare at the clock waiting for the time to pass. It said on the package to wait at least five minutes before looking at the results. Her hands trembled as she began to pick up the strip. Gripping the plastic tube, she forced herself to summon enough strength the view the results. As she looked down at the colour on the tester she felt her knees give out. All she could do was cry as she began to tremble with the rush of emotions that flooded her system. She sobbed quietly as she curled up in a fetal position trying to heal her damaged soul.


	17. Chapter 17: Dismissal

**Chapter 17**

"Sara? It's after seven, I thought we had a dinner planned." Grissom called out towards her bedroom. Silence was the only sound which graced his presence.

"Honey are you alright?" Grissom asked once more before slowly opening the door. His heart flew out of its steady rhythm as he saw Sara on the floor of her bedroom.

"Sara? What happened?" Grissom felt the familiar feeling of panic loom over him as he saw her lifeless on the ground. A tear rolling down one of her cheeks made him feel somehow less panicked. She was breathing, that was a start.

"Go away." Sara hoarsely exclaimed. She never once looked Grissom in the eye as he continued to kneel down before her. She refused to lie down on the bed, it would be giving her comfort. She didn't deserve to be comfortable.

"I'm not going anywhere. Are you in pain?" Grissom looked Sara over for any injuries trying to ignore the ones he had caused previously.

"Yes." Sara cried.

"From what?" Grissom tried to touch her but she shifted before he could have a chance.

"From you!" Sara yelled, as she rolled on her side away from Grissom's gaze. He could only watch helplessly as her chest compressed frantically from her uncontrolled crying.

"Sara…" He took a deep breath out trying to control himself. "I know what I did was unacceptable, the only thing I can do is apologize everyday for the rest of my life." Grissom swallowed hard, suppressing the sadness which was lurching up into his throat.

"Not good enough. I want you away from me as far as possible starting now." Sara waited for his reaction.

"No, please don't give up on me. I said I'll get the help I need. Sara I can control myself now. I…" Grissom knew it was useless to explain.

"How do I not know it will happen again? I can't risk it now." Sara clenched her fist in pain as she forced herself to throw away her past feelings for Grissom. The process was leaving her emotionally drained.

"Why now? I thought we were going to start over tonight." Grissom continued to stare at Sara in disbelief.

"What did I say? Please get out. Now." Sara's voice was more demanding then she had meant. Another tear fell to the floor as she heard Grissom's reluctant footsteps make their way outside her bedroom door.

"I'm sorry! It's all my fault. I wanted you to have a daddy who could protect you, not cause you pain. Blame me. Blame me if you regret never having a father." Sara began to stand up and walk over to her bed, her hand never leaving her stomach.

"I am going to protect you from him for as long as it takes until we move away. You would have loved your father so much." Sara's body still trembled with the thought of leaving Grissom forever. "But I can't risk it. I don't want you to have the father I did."


	18. Chapter 18: Malum Paternus

**Chapter 18**

"I deserve it Cath, she hasn't talked to me since yesterday and she stays in her room all day and night only coming out to pick up some food from the kitchen." Grissom sighed into the phone.

"You're damn right you deserve it Gil, I don't even know why I'm talking with you right now." Catherine was far from being disgusted at Grissom's recent behavior. Nick had told Catherine and Warrick everything he knew from his visit with Sara, all of the team decided to transfer to another lab. They thought it would be best not to tell Grissom, Catherine decided to not leave until she knew Grissom got the help he needed.

"Catherine you don't have to tell me that I'm a monster, a psychopath or just a plain jerk I already know so spare your breath. I just want to make sure she's alright; I know things will never be the same between her and I. That's my fault. But, we're leaving to go back to Vegas tonight and she still hasn't said a word to me." Grissom held the phone tight as he paced the floor of the living room waiting for Catherine's response.

"Gil all I can say is leave her alone, think of everything she has been through. She probably is scared to talk with you, fearing that you'll snap again. Just stay well away from her even in Vegas until you get the treatment you need. Just remember that forgiveness takes time and if she never forgives you then nothing can change her decision. Sorry to say it Gil, but if I were in her position I would have called the cops on you. Anyways, I have to go." Catherine hung up the phone with no hesitation making Grissom believe he was all out of friends.

_"Now I've truly become a ghost. Am I that out of control?"_ Grissom couldn't remember any of his angry outbursts; it's as if he had amnesia relating only to his memories involving his intense emotions of rage. Grissom started to pack up some of their lab equipment upstairs to take his mind off of his problems. It looked as if he was packing everything by himself since Sara obviously didn't want to be around. As he began to finish packing the lab supplies, he made his way to his bedroom to finish putting away his belongings in a suitcase. A paper airplane which rested on his dresser made a slight smile form on his lips. He picked up the creation with the most care he could summon and packed it in an evidence bag. An hour quickly passed and before Grissom knew it everything he brought was packed safely in his bags. He dreaded the journey back to Las Vegas. He didn't want to invade Sara's space on the plane or in the taxi ride to the airport. Unfortunately, he didn't have a say in their travel arrangements or else he would have booked himself a separate flight. Suddenly he felt the odd urge to clean, to get his mind off of the inevitable. He started to wipe down all the windows of the home forcing all his strength into removing a stubborn spot which refused to come off. His cleaning efforts directed him towards Sara's bathroom. Hoping she would notice his kind gesture in making everything neat and tidy for her last night, he began to neatly display her various toiletries in alphabetical order.

"_This actually looks like I'm trying too hard to impress…"_ Grissom mused as he placed one last bottle on a shelf hanging from the bathroom wall. He moved his attention to the trash which was already starting to overflow in a mere period of three days.

_"I just remember taking this out."_ Grissom thought as he struggled to pull the bag free from the can. The plastic stuck to the can with more force then Grissom had expected. As he pulled the bag finally free it ripped in half spilling the contents of the trash to the ground.

"Shit." Grissom exclaimed under his breath, quickly trying to put all the garbage back into the broken bag. As he clumsily tried to clean up his mess something caught his eye. A simple cardboard box made his stomach lurch in pain.

"A pregnancy test?" Grissom stared at the box for what appeared to be an eternity before panicking. He immediately threw everything out of the bag and then searched recklessly for the test tube which would give him the answers he needed. His heart wildly beat in his chest as he fumbled through piles of toilet paper and cotton balls until a plastic tube rolled down the floor. He slowly walked over to the test and closed his eyes as he picked up the tube. As he opened one eye he was greeted with a plus sign. Emotions from fear to anger flooded his body as he quickly became dangerously out of control once more. His logical side was thrown once more to the wind as his the familiar emotion of anger took over his senses. He squeezed the test tube in his hand as he stormed out of the bathroom and knocked down Sara's door. It didn't take much force to knock it down as it was feebly repaired days earlier.

"What the hell is this?" Grissom yelled, his face bright red with anger.

"Grissom…" Sara dropped the phone out of her hand as soon as she saw what was in Grissom's possession. Fear gripped her body as she struggled to remain calm.

"So tell me Sara, whose is it?" Grissom stated under his clenched teeth.

"What?" Sara couldn't understand why she couldn't move. She tried to force her body off of her bed but failed miserably. Grissom approached her closer and closer by the second, the thought of him harming her and the baby eventually became enough motivation to wipe away her fear. She climbed off of the bed and backed up as far as she could until she was flush with the back wall in her bedroom.

"It's Nick's isn't it?" Grissom was a mere three feet away and the thought of him losing control entirely made Sara tremble. "Answer me!" Grissom yelled.

"Whatever you want to think Grissom." Sara didn't want Grissom to know he was the father at all costs, however she would tell him if it meant saving her child's life. Sara's answer rewarded her with a hard slap to her face, she remained stunned as Grissom gripped her shoulders enabling her to run away.

"You know what? You are a whore." Grissom spit on Sara before placing his hands roughly around her neck. His grip tightened the more she tried to fight back. The sound of soft gags filled the room as he slightly lifted Sara off of the ground with just her neck. Her legs frantically kicked searching for the ground. Her eyes locked on Grissom's making her fear her future even more as she saw the intensity of his anger growing larger in his eyes.

"Grissom…Please…It's your baby." Sara managed to say, as she was on the brink of passing out from lack of oxygen. Grissom's grip loosened enough for Sara to have enough strength to kick him in the leg. He cried out in pain and dropped to the ground giving Sara her only opportunity for escape. Feeling the adrenaline pump through her veins, she raced to the spare bedroom and opened the dresser to find the gun Grissom had given her. Her hands shook out of control as she struggled to open the drawer. Sara had hidden the gun the night she received the gift. She never thought she would need to use it. Now her mind set was different, she wasn't just protecting herself she was also protecting her unborn child. Hearing the creek of the door from the other room, Sara took the gun and quickly loaded it before hiding inside the closet. Grissom's footsteps grew louder and louder making her start to fear the future.

"Sara?" Grissom called out. His voice lacked the gentle overtones he normally had when speaking out loud. This was a different person, this was no longer Grissom. His eyes shifted around the room searching for any hiding places. He smiled as he saw that a shirt was sticking out of the closet. He silently made his way over to the door putting his hand on the handle waiting for the perfect opportunity to avail himself. With one powerful "swish" Grissom opened the door and was stunned when Sara leapt out holding the gun against his head.

"Get the hell away from me and my baby or else I swear to God I will kill you right here and now." Sara's chest violently rose up and down as she breathed heavily, her lungs worked in a state of "over time" as fear gripped her tight. Grissom smiled at the sight of Sara in control.

"You won't kill me, I'm the father of your child remember?" Grissom continued to look at Sara confident.

"Try me." Sara clicked off the safety and pressed the barrel harder against his skull.

"Alright, I know when to take a hint." Grissom hissed, as he backed away from Sara's proximity. A familiar sense of deja'vu loomed over her after Grissom spoke his final words before exiting the home and leaving her life forever. Sara dropped to her knees and held her hands over her face.

"It's over. You don't have to be scared any longer." Sara rubbed her stomach and walked out of the room to collect herself, leaving the phone still on the ground.

"Sara? Sara are you still there? Talk to me…" Catherine was still on the line as she was in full panic mode. She heard yelling and things being knocked around, she could only hope Grissom didn't do something he would regret. She whipped out her cell phone and kept Sara's line open.

"Nick? It's me…" Catherine spoke into the phone as calmly as she possibly could hoping he could reach Sara in time before it was too late.

Sara grabbed as much clothes as she could and jammed it into her suitcase. She didn't care what she left behind; she wasn't going to need it anyways. All that mattered was getting as far away from Grissom as she possibly could. She had a plan, she would ditch her tickets Culpepper bought her and purchase airline tickets to San Francisco under a fake name. Sara knew that she would have to change her name as soon as possible, Grissom would eventually find her if she didn't act quickly. Her stomach burned with the thought of Grissom attacking her child. She placed another loving hand on her stomach before turning off all the lights in the home. Searching the room quickly for anything important, she made her way to the living room. As she grew closer and closer to the front door a noise made her jump.

"Who's there?" Sara asked. Her body began to shake once more at the thought of Grissom returning. The creeks grew louder and louder as she approached the front door. As she entered the living room a figure in black grabbed her from behind, immediately covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

"Nice to see you again too Sara." The voice seemed all too familiar as she forced her head to look at her attacker. He let her head turn around, still holding her mouth closed. A muffled scream escaped from her lips as she saw the elderly gentleman who had flirted with her a couple of days ago. His grip hardened on her shoulders even more as she tried to fight back.

"Why fight it my dear?" The elderly man said as he gagged Sara with a white handkerchief. Sara was unable to fight his power over her as he duct taped her arms and legs together. She struggled to fight with all her strength but failed miserably.

"You know what turns me on the most? You're tough, the others were just too easy. And God you're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on. Who says that age really does matter?" The elderly man smiled once more as Sara was trying to get free by moving around violently from side to side on the floor.

"You know what I'm going to do to you?" The man grew closer and closer until he was face to face with Sara on the ground. She screamed once more at the thought of dying and ending her baby's life.

"I'm going to hang you from that lovely, strong chandelier from your living room, so that when your husband comes home he can be greeted immediately with your radiant beauty. You're an intoxicating trophy Sara, you should be hung from the highest peak for all to see." The man sneered as Sara's struggling made several buttons on her blouse come undone. His hand slowly slid down her shirt searching for her breasts.

"You're the one trophy that no man can ever have. I thought there was no such thing as the perfect woman, I guess I'm wrong." He ripped open the rest of her blouse causing it to tear in half. He picked up the fabric and held it up to his nose, inhaling all of her enriching scent.

"I hope you feel as wonderful as you smell." The man climbed on top of Sara and began to kiss her down her neck and on to her chest. All the while Sara continued to struggle. The wiggling was starting to get on the killer's nerves.

"I have a feeling I'm going to have to sadly kill you before I have you my dear. Now if you would just settle down, I wouldn't have to do it right away. I tend to like having my women alive, understand?" Sara was unable to hear her attacker's words as her mind was still set on saving her baby. He forcefully lifted Sara to her feet and held her to make sure she didn't fall to the ground. He grabbed a long rope from his black jacket and made a noose. Only now did Sara notice that her attacker was wearing thick gloves to prevent his epithelials

and fingerprints from being left behind at the scene. He tied the noose around Sara's neck and patiently waited to adjust it tighter.

"Any last words?" The killer asked as he took the handkerchief out of her mouth.

"Please, don't kill me I'm pregnant. Please…" Sara felt the rush of tears fall down her face as she looked her attacker in the eye.

"Sorry sympathy doesn't click with me my dear." He exclaimed before tightening the knot around her neck and letting her fall to the ground. He grabbed a step ladder he must have brought with him to the home and placed it beneath the chandelier. He knelt over Sara and picked her up using the rope which was wrapped tightly around her neck. He continued to lift her up in the air until the front door swung open.

"Put her down." Grissom held out a gun as he struggled to see if Sara was still alive, ignoring the appearance of the killer. Her feet continued to slowly kick in the air but as the seconds passed their force was diminishing. The killer dropped Sara to the ground in mid air, luckily she wasn't very high up. Grissom ran over to Sara but was stopped when the man grabbed his shoulder. All the colour drained from Grissom's face as he recognized the attacker.

"Dad?"

**TBC…**


	19. Chapter 19: Fatality

**A/N**: So here's the final installments. I can't believe it's done already! Thanks to everyone for their support, I can only hope that my next fics will be as welcomed! Enjoy.

**Chapter 19**

"What the hell did you do?" Grissom ran over to Sara and held her in his arms. Her eyes flew open with fear as she realized who was holding her. Struggling to be free, Sara moved around on the floor waiting for someone to untie her; praying that her baby was going to be alright. Stress can drastically affect a baby in the womb, especially in the earliest phase. Grissom remained frozen as he looked at Sara and then back to his Dad.

"Come on son it's not like I haven't done what you haven't already tried." His father eyed his son as he watched his expression change to disgust.

"I would never hurt Sara…" He whispered.

_"Untie her!"_ Grissom's logic shouted.

"Yes how amusing. And I'm guessing those bruises on her wrists got there all by themselves." His father laughed. "Come on…Don't fight your feelings, it's in your blood. Help me preserve Sara and all her beauty, the dead don't age."

"Get the hell out of this house before I kill you with my bare hands." Grissom angrily yelled.

"Yes, that's it. Feels good doesn't it? Letting all your anger out, feels even better when you play God with someone as attractive as your wife." His Father walked towards Grissom and Sara.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Grissom whispered in Sara's ear as he untied her as quickly as his hands would let him.

"You know you interrupted me just before I killed her. Although, it's not the killing that really gets me off, it's the sex." The last statement was more then enough to throw Grissom off the edge. His eyes finally registered with the sight of Sara topless and her blouse torn to shreds on the floor several feet away from her. She curled up in a fetal position and prayed for the nightmare to end.

"You son of a bitch!" Grissom shouted as he flew at his father knocking him to the ground. He threw a forceful punch to his father's face before receiving a bitter blow of equal strength. Both men rolled on the ground fighting for each other's life.

"I wanted to kill you since I was eight years old!" Grissom remarked as he tried to get his hands around his father's neck.

"And you've been holding your emotions in all this time?" His Dad laughed as he hit his son in the face once more. Sara began to panic as she realized Grissom was going to get himself killed. She summoned enough strength to climb on the floor over to where both men were trying to get their revenge.

"Stop it Grissom!" Sara was knocked to the ground as Grissom's hand flew at her to get her out of the way. She landed hard on her stomach and the pain sent her unconscious.

"Just for the record I tried to kill your mother numerous times when you were at school. But damn it, you always came home early." His father managed to grip his hands around Grissom's neck as they both continued to struggle for survival.

"I didn't trust you to be alone with her- even at eight." Grissom was beginning to feel faint, unable to fight his father any longer.

"Well you know what they say, like father like son? I don't think your wife over there trusts you more then your mother trusted me" Grissom's father strangled his son with all his might putting all his anger into the act of killing his flesh and blood.

"Take your hands off of him! Criminalistics!" Nick gripped his gun hard in his hands as he waited to make a move and enter the home. The door was left open from Grissom's arrival, luck was on Nick's side.

"You can't stop me, I'm carrying out justice." His father refused to let go of Grissom's neck until he felt a shot of pain shoot through his chest knocking him lifeless to the ground. Grissom gasped for air from the ground as Sara let out a sharp cry as her hands shook. Her finger still rested on the trigger, she was stunned at her actions. Nick ran over to Sara who was still in utter shock. When Grissom rose feebly from the ground Sara immediately pointed the gun at his chest as well.

"Sara?" Grissom remained still, as a lonely tear fell from his eye due to the sight before him. Sara appeared to be emotionless as she pushed back the gun to reload it. Her eyes never left Grissom's.

"Sara, you're not thinking straight, now just please give me the gun." Nick said as he remained standing at her side. Sara never flinched as her finger tightened on the trigger. Grissom deserved what ever he had coming, he always knew he would end up like his father, now it was inevitable.

"Sara he's not coming after you anymore. He's going to get the help he needs and you're going to move as far away from him as possible. You never have to see him again, just give me the gun. I promise everything will be alright. Trust me." Nick watched as Sara finally dropped the gun to the ground in redemption. The police flooded the room along with paramedics as Nick gave the signal that it was safe to enter. Nick didn't know that he was entering a situation of this complexity or else he would have waited for the police to clear the scene. He just assumed that Grissom was finally out of control.

"Sara, did Grissom hurt you in anyway?" Nick knelt down to Sara so that he could look her in the eye. Grissom remained in shock, standing in the same position. Sara shook her head in denial for the last time. She still feel the need to protect her attacker, a common response in many abuse cases.

"Just get me the hell away from here." Sara hoarsely stated. Nick wrapped his jacket around Sara's exposed chest and began to help her up, all the while giving Grissom a disgusted look.

"Dr. Grissom you need to come with us, we need to ask you a few questions about what went on here. In addition, we would like to clarify your relationship with Ms. Sidle." The officer took Grissom by the arm and guided him to the squad car. He watched helplessly in the back of the car as Sara was being treated by one of the paramedics.

_"I'm so sorry. You're right, stay away from me, I've already have caused you enough pain. I should have never accepted this mission…"_ Grissom buried his head in his hands as he felt the car start up and drive away from the nightmare he had a hand in creating.


	20. Chapter 20: Etched in Glass

**Chapter 20**

"Start from the very beginning and don't skip a beat." Culpepper demanded. He paced the floor of the interrogation room, hoping that under the pressure Grissom would confess to his own sins.

"I told you I don't remember everything, only bits and pieces." Grissom felt his head throb as he forced himself to recall the events which had transpired less then one hour ago.

"Try harder." Culpepper yelled as his pacing came to a halt. His eyes locked on Grissom's as he waited for a response.

"I remember…" A white flash formed behind Grissom's eyes, which were now closed as he struggled to relive the events. "…Cleaning the bathroom and knocking over the trash basket. Then after that, all I remember is walking away from the house and not remembering how I got there. I decided to go back and try to gather my thoughts as to what may have occurred…That's when I saw him trying to…" Grissom choked back his emotion as hard as he could, his voice jammed in his throat as the memories flashed in his mind with vivid clarity.

"Your father tried to kill Sara, you came in just in time. He was the 'Executioner', he raped and murdered more then twenty women. Sara may have been another victim on his list, we believe that he stalked her for at least a week before carrying out his plan." Culpepper watched Grissom's eyes as his pain became apparent within his orbs.

"I never thought, I mean I never could fathom my father doing this. I just assumed he was dead or on the brink of death with the all the alcohol and misfortunes he committed in his youth. Arrest me Culpepper, put me where I belong. Everything is my fault." Grissom stared at Culpepper as he held out his hands in submission.

"As much as I would like to arrest you, I can't. You're going to be locked away for what you did to Sara at a mental health hospital in Las Vegas. However, I cannot arrest you for what your father did. He's dead Grissom. Sara killed him before he could attack CSI Stokes. Do you recall any of this?" Culpepper motioned for a woman in a white lab coat to enter the interrogation room. Grissom remained in shock, his head began to spin as he forced himself to remember. An image of Sara holding a gun at Grissom made him snap.

"I deserve to die just like him! Why didn't she just kill me and get it over with? I can't live, don't you see? I'm going to end up just like him, a monster." Grissom didn't try to halt the tears which flowed down his face, he couldn't think about that right now. He just wanted to get what he deserved, a quick bullet to the heart.

"Yeah you do deserve to die after beating up Sara so much she lost her baby you bastard!" Nick bolted into the room and pushed the guards out of the way. Grissom felt the bile form in his throat as a result of the news.

"What?" Grissom gasped.

"Yeah you heard me, don't play stupid. You fucking bastard! She lost the baby because of you!" Nick was cut off by the calm looking woman in a lab coat.

"Please, can you try to control yourself, Dr. Grissom is unaware of his actions. Some memories he cannot recall, he might not even have known about Ms. Sidle's pregnancy." Nick could only guess that the woman was a shrink, the only person in the world who could defend a man as crazy as his ex-boss.

"She was pregnant? I killed the baby?" Grissom slowly rose from his seat and looked down at the glass table in front of him. Without warning he shattered the table with one fist and grabbed the sharpest piece of glass he could find. Culpepper and two officers ran over to Grissom and tried to restrain him before he ended up hurting himself or others. Grissom knew better then to wait, he stabbed the side of his throat with one hard jolt and immediately dropped to the ground.

"God damn it, someone call the paramedics!" The psychologist yelled. Both Culpepper and Nick stood a while before making the call. Neither one of them wanted him to live, perhaps Grissom was right in trying to take his own life. Justice may actually be served with his demise.

The entire team thought it was best that Sara didn't find out about her miscarriage, she was already under enough stress. The beep from her heart monitor woke Sara up in a jolt as she realized where she was. As her eyes strained to focus, she found herself surrounded by a small crowd of familiar faces. Everyone from Dr. Robbins to Catherine was in the room, trying to keep a supporting smile on each of their faces.

"Where am I?" Sara sluggishly asked.

"You're at Wescraven hospital in Miami. They thought it was best to be in a familiar environment to help with your recovery, so we all decided to fly down here." Brass explained.

"My recovery? What is wrong? Where's Grissom?" Just then she remembered everything from her pregnancy to killing Grissom's father. "Is the baby alright?" Sara began to feel a jolt of panic as she saw the expressions change on all her friend's faces.

"Honey, the Doctor will tell you about your baby after we make sure that you're alright." Catherine exclaimed, trying to hide her sadness.

"But I feel fine." Sara lied. Physically she felt fine but she knew that mentally she was not up to par.

"That's what the Doctors are going to determine, but for now just rest alright? We'll be out in the lobby if you need anything." Catherine gave Sara a reassuring smile before motioning the team out into the hallway.

"You sure we're doing the right thing not telling her Catherine?" Warrick asked as he looked back into Sara's room.

"If we tell her now she'll be a wreck. We need the psychologists to do their examination and for the doctors to finish running their tests. We know that the baby miscarried so far due to a forceful blow to her abdominal area. But with the amount of stress she was under with Grissom, who knows." Catherine clenched her fist at Grissom's actions.

"That bastard, he's going to get away with it Cath! They're not pressing charges!" Nick yelled as he entered the hallway.

"Don't tell me you went to the station." Catherine sighed.

"Nicky as much as I would love to strangle him, confronting Grissom about his actions is useless. The guy is 'off the reservation' right now." Greg commented, wishing he could in fact give Grissom what he deserves.

"Yeah well don't tell Sara, he tried to kill himself. He might succeed, he's in ICU right now. He's lost a lot of blood and apparently he has a rare blood type, so the Doctors don't think they can find enough blood to save him." Nick said.

"What blood type is he Nick?" Dr. Robbins inquired.

"He's AB negative." Nick sighed. "Personally I think he deserves to die for what he did to her don't you think?"

"Nick, how can you even think such a thing? Remember all the times Grissom got you out of a jam? Or all the times he helped you in court when you forgot about the case? You can hate him, but don't wish he was dead. We at least owe that much to him." Catherine retorted.

"What blood type did you say he was again?" Dr. Robbins asked once more.

"AB negative why?" Nick looked at Robbins skeptically trying to figure out his sudden interest.

"Because the blood he needs is in the one person who would never give it to him." Robbins pointed over to Sara's room where two doctors entered holding several charts in their hands.

"You've got to be kidding me. They both so happen to have an extremely rare blood type? How do you know all of this Doc?" Nick asked as he saw everyone look sadly over to Sara's room.

"Just because I'm a coroner doesn't mean I haven't looked at the medical history of all the employees. I have a medical background you know." Robbins replied.

"You think she'll donate if we don't say who it's for?" Warrick asked as he began to pace the hall. Grissom was there for Warrick the most, if his former boss needed his help he wanted to aid in his time of need. He wanted to look past his indiscretions just like Grissom had done for him, it would just take some time.

"If we ask we have to be careful, she cannot know the truth about Grissom. It will just make things worse. I'll tell one of her doctor's." Catherine explained before running over to Sara's room and motioning for one of the physicians to come out in the hall. It was going to be a long night and the team could only hope that Sara would be able to help the one man who she wanted to forget.

"Alright you did your tests, can you please tell me about my baby?" Sara asked as she watched one of the doctors write down a fast note before looking her in the eye.

"I don't think you are ready yet." The doctor said aloud, making Sara panic further.

"Listen, it's my baby and I want to know what is happening!" Sara rested her hand on her stomach trying to feel the life force which used to be growing inside of her.

"Ms. Sidle I really don't know how to put this lightly." The doctor sat down on a chair so that he was eye level with Sara. Her heart began to frantically beat out of control as she waited to hear the news that everyone had been to afraid to tell her. "You lost your baby during some sort of struggle we're guessing. Do you remember being thrown or landing hard on your stomach at any point?" Sara began to feel the room close in on her as she felt her hands shake uncontrollably in shock. It was as if her heart broke once more. Not only did she lose Grissom but she lost her baby. The one thing she thought she could never have.

"I lost my baby?" Sara's breathing became erratic as she felt herself get out of control.

"Nurse get in here we have a panic attack!" The doctor shouted as he placed an oxygen mask over Sara's face. It appeared to have no effect on calming her down.

"Nurse!" The doctor shouted once more.

Grissom started to convulse as his heart rate continued to drop. The doctor's scrambled to hold him down as his body continued to shake.

"We need that blood, he's fading fast." A doctor yelled.

"I want to help." Catherine told one of the nurses outside Grissom's ICU.

"You're AB negative?" The nurse skeptically asked.

"No but I'm O negative which is compatible with his blood is it not?" Catherine's heart missed a beat as she saw Grissom shaking from a crack in the curtain surrounding his bed.

"Yes it is. If you want to help you have to give your blood now, he's not going to make it much longer." Catherine sat down on a chair in the ICU wing and did not wait long until two nurses surrounded her with the necessary tools to collect her blood. The procedure was quick but left her feeling slightly dizzy.

"You're going to have to sit here for a while, we took a lot of blood. We're not making any guarantees about his recovery but at least he has a chance." The nurse ran over to Grissom holding two bags of blood, she handed them to the doctor before running over to another room.

"You don't deserve Sara, but you do deserve to live." Catherine whispered as she watched the blood drip into Grissom's arm.


	21. Chapter 21: How to Mend a Broken Heart

**Chapter 21**

**Three Weeks Later**

**Las Vegas, Nevada**

"I'm impressed with your progress Dr. Grissom, you've recovered fast. I hope you will recover just as fast in your rehabilitation here at the Clifton Institute." The young therapist walked Grissom down the hallway which was painted a stark white. The young man's brown eyes reflected the colour of the walls, making him appear as if he had no pigment. His slicked back brown hair and his expensive looking glasses indicated that he took great pride in his appearance. His neatly manicured finger nails scratched his head as he tried to analyze Grissom through his lack of response. Grissom hasn't spoken one word since he found out he killed Sara's baby. Their baby.

"You've only been here for three days how do you like it?" The doctor asked. Grissom's clothing was a mirror of his image. He only wore black and sometimes he didn't bother getting dressed in the morning. He frequently tore at his clothes believing that he didn't deserve to look presentable. He was still on suicide watch since his attempt in Miami which left a large scar on his neck. The scar reminded him of Sara everyday, it made him remember the pain he caused her. He didn't deserve to be alive and he hated everyone for letting him survive. The team visited him once when he woke up and he could tell that they were forcing themselves to smile. Grissom knew of Catherine's gesture, she saved his life and for that he could never forgive her.

"Listen Grissom you cannot be released back into public until we find out what caused your behavior. You can be in here for the rest of your life if you don't start talking." The doctor opened the door marked "Dr. Fieldstone" and gestured for Grissom to enter. The room smelled of leather and paper as the former supervisor made his way further into the office. Two leather chairs we laid out in front of an oversized desk which was pilled high with folders of other patients. A bookshelf at the back of Dr. Fieldstone's desk caught Grissom's eye and he slowly made his way over to the various bodies of works. He immediately picked up the book marked "Macbeth" and began looking over the pages.

"You like Macbeth? It is one of my favorites. Lets start talking about your life Grissom, you know you have many people who look up to you. All of your colleagues were extremely worried when you tried to kill yourself, you have a purpose here. Ending your life would affect too many people…" Grissom continued to look through the play, never looking up from the pages.

**"**Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it; he died as one that had been studied in his death to throw away the dearest thing he owed, as 't were a careless trifle " Grissom quoted before slamming the book shut and putting it back where it once lay at rest.

"If you are trying to say that your life is worthless that you could just throw it away like a piece of garbage you're wrong Dr. Grissom. You're here so that we can analyze what caused your behavior, there has to be a logical explanation. You do not have a previous history of mental illness, with your help I can find the source and cure you. I know I can." Dr. Fieldstone continued to watch Grissom sit reluctantly in the seat in front of him.

"If you knew me you would know that I do not deserve to be here." Grissom sighed as he gripped the chair's armrest in a means of relieving stress.

"We are not ourselves when nature, being oppressed, commands the mind to suffer with the body." Fieldstone managed to smile when Grissom raised his eyebrow at the quote.

"Shakespeare wrote that before he met me, the quote would have been altered significantly if stated in the present." Grissom's eyes immediately filled with sadness once more as he began to rethink the events which occurred in the past.

"I looked at your history Grissom. Your childhood must have been unbearable when you lived with you father. It says here that he used to rape and abuse your mother with you in plain sight?" The doctor hoped Grissom would start to open up so that he could continue his treatment. If he could release all of Grissom's pain and emotion there may be hope.

"Yes…But I can't remember all of it. Sometimes I have dreams or at any point during the day an image flashes in my mind about an event from my childhood. It started to happen more often during a specific case." Grissom confessed as he continued to grip the arm rest. His eyes were still bloodshot from lack of sleep, indicating to the therapist that Grissom still had nightmares of the events he could not remember.

"Tell me about the case that triggered your memories." Fieldstone calmly asked.

"It was an abuse case involving a father who beat his wife so hard that she died. I was the first on the scene, the father had kidnapped his children and they were found in a hotel closet. I took myself off of the case because I knew I would be too emotionally involved." Indents started to form on the armrest as Grissom dug his nails further into the leather.

"So you started to remember more memories after working that case. But you must have done other abuse cases in your career, why did you become less stable after this one?" The therapist waited for Grissom's response as he noticed that his patient began to sweat more as his nervous state increased further.

"Because I usually get a break, this time I was asked to contribute to an investigation involving a serial killer who raped and hung over twenty women." Grissom's eyes turned black as an image of his father holding Sara flashed in his mind.

"You later found out that the killer was your father. Was that a surprise to you?"

"It confirmed my worst fear. He always told me that I was going to end up like him since I was a child." Grissom felt his heart race further as another image of his father hitting his mother bubbled to the surface of his mind.

"You're remembering things as we talk aren't you? Why did you take your anger towards your father on Sara? What did she do wrong?" The questions made Grissom feel nauseous as another flash of Grissom hitting Sara to the ground flooded to his mind.

"She asked about my father, but I didn't remember hurting her. I just remembered my father hitting my mother and later my father hurting me. I never wanted to hurt her, I don't even remember doing it." Grissom felt tears form in his eyes as another flash of Sara crying beneath Grissom flashed to his mind.

"But you did hurt her Grissom. There were bruises on her wrists and she lost her baby when you threw her to the ground during the struggle you had with your father." Dr. Fieldstone hoped he wasn't being too hard on Grissom with his questioning but he needed to get him to remember in order for him to heal.

"I don't remember doing those things that's what scares me. That's why I wanted to die, I didn't want to hurt anyone again." Grissom looked at the ground unable to stare at the therapist in the eye.

"Try to remember, close your eyes and recall a time when you were at the house in Miami. Do you have a memory in your mind?" Fieldstone watched Grissom close his eyes and strain to recall a specific memory. Grissom nodded his head in a mere second indicating that he had done what was required. "Alright continue thinking about that moment and now try to remember a time where you felt angry." Dr. Fieldstone watched in fascination as Grissom opened his eyes in rage.

"You want to know what it was like for my Mother, in a home that you would fear to come home to every night?" Grissom's eyes appeared to not focus on the room and people around him. It was as if he was remembering his memories and physically acting them in the present. Grissom got off his chair and loomed towards Dr. Fieldstone.

"He would come home from work…And she would be too scared to fight back…Just like you…" Grissom clenched his fist around Fieldstone's neck with no hesitation.

"Dr. Grissom you're not your father! You're in the present." Dr. Fieldstone said as he struggled to breathe as Grissom's grip grew tighter around his neck.

"Why can't you just let it happen?" Grissom pushed harder making the doctor feel dizzy.

"We are not ourselves when nature, being oppressed, commands the mind to suffer with the body." The doctor managed to say before going unconscious. Grissom's grip immediately loosened as he was brought back to reality.

"Dr. Fieldstone?" Grissom asked as he bent over the young therapist who was slowly starting to become aware of his surroundings. After a few wheezing coughs Fieldstone stood up and slowly approached his desk.

"I think you're suffering from repressed memories Dr. Grissom." The therapist rubbed his neck where the quiet entomologist had once gripped with all his strength. "Due to an extreme amount traumatic events in your childhood, your brain repressed certain memories to allow you to forget about the pain and suffering you once endured in your past. Repressed childhood memories tend to be relived through adulthood only when a series of similar traumatic events trigger the release of your repression. You are a severe case as you not only remember your memories but you act out your memories physically. Since you are remembering repressed memories, your actions you conduct while remembering do not resister in your brain's nervous system. To you its like sleepwalking in a dream, it can be very dangerous as you may have guessed already." Fieldstone scribbled something on Grissom's chart before waiting for Grissom's response.

"Can you help me?" Grissom quietly asked.

"Yes if you're willing to let out all of your repressed memories once and for all. The theory is, if you release all of your repression the episodes will stop."

"You think she will ever forgive me?" Grissom asked, trying to hide his sadness.

"Forgiveness takes time, if I eventually notify her when you are cured she may understand the reason behind your actions. None of what you have done is your fault, its like blaming yourself when you get the flu. You did not cause your illness you need to realize this."

"You need to help me so I can show her that I'm different, that I'm not the man she thinks I am." Grissom pleaded.

"I will try as hard as I can." Fieldstone pat Grissom on the shoulder as he continued his therapy session in the hope of making more progress.


	22. Chapter 22: Wake Me up When Sept Ends

**Chapter 22**

**One week later**

Sara stood on the scale in disbelief, she couldn't believe she had gained another four pounds.

_"That's what I get for taking Nick's advice on eating more…_" Sara thought as she pushed the scale out of the way. She recovered, that's what the doctors told her. Eventually she would forget about her baby. The thing that really got Sara was the fact that she wasn't able to have children. Her mind floated back to a day in the hospital three weeks ago.

_"Nick I was told that I wasn't physically able to have children that's what hurts the most. Somehow that baby defied all odds, I thought it would survive."_ _ Sara cried on Nick's shoulder as they continued to watch the new born babies through a clear window._

_"Why weren't you able to have kids Sar?" Nick continued to hold Sara allowing for her to release all her pain. He had wished he could take her pain away, he couldn't stand to see her suffer any longer._

_"I never told anyone this but when I was a teenager I was rapped on my first date I ever had. Promising start to relationships huh? After he raped me he demanded that I should get rid of the child, he never wore a condom. So I walked down a back alley way and found a man who promised a cheap abortion that was quick and painless. He lied. He performed the procedure in a rundown warehouse and left me to bleed to death when he realized there were complications. I was eventually found and rushed to the hospital where a doctor told me that I would never be able to have children." Sara explained, never showing any sign of emotion._

_"Sara I never knew, I'm so sorry." Nick continued to hold Sara tight allowing her to know that she was not alone. _

_"So when I found out I was pregnant I thought that maybe Grissom and I were meant for each other after all. That thought quickly faded when I found out he could kill me and not even care about his actions. I mean, he killed our baby! How could he?" Sara felt a lonely tear fall down her cheek, others soon followed._

_"It's going to be alright Sara." Nick whispered as he rocked Sara in his arms._

Sara felt her stomach which had a slight pudge to it. She just had to stop eating French fries and more carrots, the weight would soon come off.

"_A little exercise wouldn't hurt either_." Sara noted.

She grabbed her running shoes out of her closet and put them on with ease. The last time she went on a run was during the long months of preparation for the annual police marathon held two years ago. As she jogged out her door and locked it, she put on her headphones and made her way out of her building while listening to the song "Wake me up When September Ends". As she hummed the tune, she continued to jog over to a near by park. The rhythm of the song coincided with her steps as she continued to feel her heart pump vigorously to the activity.

_"Summer has come and passed the innocent can never last. Wake me up when September ends…" _

Sara found the words to the lyrics somehow comforting, in her mind she wished she could sleep her life away. After all the events that had transpired, she needed to hibernate from the rest of the world and collect her thoughts on what she should do with her life. The boxes were already packed and her apartment only had the main necessities. But what was holding her back? She was moving back to San Francisco to start a new life, a life which could help her forget about Grissom and her baby. The team decided to stay in Las Vegas and continue working at the lab, Ecklie and the committee had convinced them not to leave. Grissom somehow still had his job waiting for him back at the lab whenever he recovered from his illness. It was against the law to fire him due to a breakdown caused by mental illness. Sara found it unfair, she knew Grissom did not have an illness. She knew that he was a monster waiting for another chance to unleash its anger onto another innocent bystander. Sara didn't want to be around when he came back, she needed to be as far away from him as possible. As the song continued to play out, she jogged past an opening to a forest trail and decided to make a detour. As she entered the forest she continued to keep up her pace, ignoring the heat from the sun's rays. As she started to climb up a hill a sudden pain shot through her stomach causing her to drop to the ground. Panicking, she flew open her cell phone and called Nick.

"Nick, it's me I need your help…"

"I really don't know how to explain it Ms. Sidle." The doctor smiled as he continued to stare at the monitor in disbelief. Nick was the only member of the team allowed in the room with Sara and he continued to hold her hand hard fearing the worst.

"You're pregnant, congratulations." The doctor smiled as he pointed to a small figure on the ultrasound monitor.

"What? How is that possible? They told me I lost my baby." Sara was in utter shock at the news, not believing her ears.

"Yes you did, one of them. You were pregnant with twins, one survived." The doctor smiled as he handed Sara the first picture of her baby.

"What?" Sara's mouth remained open at the picture she held before her.

"Sara, that's amazing!" Nick hugged Sara in response to the news. He ran out into the hallway and called out the news to the team. Everyone couldn't believe their ears and they immediately bombarded Nick with answers.

"Listen guys, the important thing is that Sara is still having a baby! Stogies at my house!" Nick proudly gleamed.

"Yeah I think I'll be happy with a baby shower thank you very much, minus the cigars Nick. Sara can't be around that smoke while she's pregnant." Catherine exclaimed.

"Who says we'll be smoking them around the women? Party at my house guys!" Nick yelled.

"Will there we lots of booze? I am a lush you know…" Dr. Robbins surprised everyone with his uncharacteristic response.

"Yeah shots for the men!" Greg called out.

"Oh please!" Catherine rolled her eyes sarcastically to the guy's behavior. She decided to throw a little get together at her place tonight and surprise Sara. "Well I'll be having a woman's night at my place then. We'll read articles in Cosmo and do our nails! Lindsey will love it!" Catherine laughed.

Sara smiled as she continued to lovingly stroke her stomach, her heart filled with joy once more at the thought of being a mother. She would do everything right for her child starting by moving to San Francisco before it's born. For now she could only imagine as to what it would be like to hold her child in her arms and do everything in her power of protecting it from danger.


	23. Chapter 23: Faith

**A/N**: If you saw the movie _Wedding Crashers_ you may notice I borrowed some great lines from one scene in particular, but changed them a little. I just love that one scene and felt the lines would go great in that situation in particular. It's been a fantastic journey writing this and once more I would like to thank **Unspoken** for all her help and to **LN** for all her support. Another bow goes out to my beta **Cybrokat** who has helped more then she could imagine. Thanks to the readers for making this fic enjoyable to write!

**Chapter 23**

**Nine Months Later**

"Checkmate." Grissom announced proudly as he outsmarted Dr. Fieldstone once more.

"How do you always manage to beat me? You know I was once the chess champion in University." He picked up all the pieces and neatly placed them inside a box with great care.

"Yeah you say that every time I manage to foil you in a game of chess." Grissom laughed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He could still see the faint image of the checkered board, it was if it had been burned into his retina.

"You've made wonderful progress Dr. Grissom. You know I could have released you a month ago but I chose not to." The doctor smiled at his patient's reaction.

"Why didn't you?" Grissom inquired.

"Well I just enjoyed playing you in chess so much I would hate to see you leave. But in all seriousness, I just wanted to make sure you were fully recovered. You now know that everything your father did cannot hinder the actions you commit today. You released all of your repressed memories through various hypnotherapy sessions and I feel that helped you a great deal. However, there is one thing that I could not fix nor could I even attempt to mend."

"Which is?" Grissom held his breath hoping that he didn't have to stay here the rest of his life.

"A broken heart. You truly love Sara and nothing I can do in the world could help you get her back. That you need to do yourself and you need to act fast because she's leaving." Fieldstone got off his seat and put the chess sat on a bookshelf.

"She's moving to San Francisco…I would have thought she would have left already." Grissom solemnly announced.

"I just heard it on the grapevine, she was offered a desk job. Weird isn't it? She's such a talented CSI and she chose to push papers." The therapist wondered aloud.

"She probably realized that her job was too dangerous and after her brushes with death she had decided to try a more conservative approach." Grissom furrowed his brow at the thought of Sara filing papers for the rest of her career, she was too talented to work in an office.

"Go to her before it's too late." Fieldstone motioned towards the door.

"Now? But you haven't even signed my release." Grissom protested.

"I did it an hour ago, now go before she leaves you permanently. Tell her the truth, that's all you can do. I'll have your belongings sent to your home later on tonight." Without another moment to lose Grissom ran towards the exit as fast as he could.

"Name please?" The guard asked in front of a computer monitor.

"Gil Grissom. Dr. Fieldstone ordered for my release an hour ago?" Grissom tried to catch his breath as he waited for the guard to pull up his file. Finally, he let Grissom through and buzzed open the door. The fresh air invaded his lungs as he continued to run down the street, he was only three blocks from Sara's apartment and he was too impatient to wait for a cab. As his journey brought him closer towards her, an elderly man looming over a grave in the cemetery across the street caught his eye. Grissom ran over to the cemetery somehow drawn to its presence. As he was a couple of feet away from the elderly man he quietly read the tombstone.

"_Melanie O'Conner_

_1930-1983"_

Grissom's heart lurched at the thought of losing Sara as he tried desperately to refocus and continue onward towards Sara's residence.

As he ran closer to her, his stomach filled with butterflies as he began to construct a speech for Sara.

_"Since I first met you I knew we were meant to be together…"_ Grissom shook his head at the "lame" factor he appeared to be leaning towards.

_"I'll just speak from my heart."_ Grissom thought as he was finally standing outside her apartment.

_"Should I buzz her or call her?_" He wondered. His question was answered as someone swung open the door as they exited the building.

_"Neither I suppose._" Grissom quickly grabbed the door and made his way in the building and into an empty elevator. The final beep brought him out of a nervous trance. As he exited the metal shaft, his heart skipped a beat when he realized he was a mere five feet away from her door.

_"Just knock on the door and hope for the best, she hasn't seen you in almost nine months. The last time she saw you was when you killed her baby and beat her up. I don't think she will be immediately pleased to see your presence."_ Grissom's logic continued to make him more nervous. His hand slowly and hesitantly met with the wood as a couple of knocks echoed down the long hallway.

"One minute!" Sara called out. Assuming it was Nick, she swung the door wide open and was greeted with someone she believed to be dead in her mind. She tried to forget about him, to move on to happier things. Yet, there he was standing in her doorway looking more vulnerable then she had ever seen him in her whole entire life. She actually forgot what he looked like, she tried to block him out of her mind. Grissom never thought of looking at the rest of Sara, he was just focused on her face for the longest time. They both were only able to stare at each other, unable to break from the trance which always managed to captivate them. He felt himself grow faint as his eyes lurked further down her body to see her stomach protruding. The dizzy feeling seemed to take charge of his body, his mind was racing with questions as he was unable to stop staring at the life force which moved inside of her.

_"Is it mine?"_ Grissom wondered as he stepped forward. Sara immediately took a protective step back in response.

"Grissom I can't have you here, I'm leaving to get away from you to start a new life. I don't want her being brought up with you around, I can't have her suffer like I did!" Sara cried as she held her stomach.

"I've changed Sara, it wasn't my fault you have to believe me. Please, the only reason why I got better was to find you and to try to win you back. Everything I did to you I think about everyday and try not to hate myself for what I did. Everything that I did to you was due to the repressed memories I kept inside of me since I was a child. Why do you think I was a ghost in high school? I was too afraid socialize, my mother told me I had anger problems. At the time it was minor, but as I grew older certain things triggered the memories." Grissom confessed.

"No Grissom I can't trust you, I promised myself to protect her." Sara continued to shield her stomach from Grissom.

"Please just tell me one thing and then I'll leave." Grissom pleaded.

"What?" Sara bitterly asked.

"Is she mine or someone else's?" His heart felt like it stopped until Sara responded.

"It's yours Grissom, I was originally pregnant with twins but I lost one during…" Her eyes turned black as the memories from her past hit her hard. "Please leave Grissom, Nick's coming to drive me to the airport. I want to have my baby away from Las Vegas and away from you." She grabbed her suitcase and refused to give into her instinct. She had to not trust Grissom, she tried to before and she lost one of her babies.

"Please just give me one more chance you're the only thing that matters in my life, the only thing that has ever mattered. I know I'm a bastard for not asking you out sooner and if I could turn back time and change my actions I would. But I can't. On the way here I saw an elderly man in the cemetery crying at his wife's grave. It said on the tombstone he had lost her twenty years ago and he still mourned for the woman he cared about with all his heart. I know we're all eventually going to lose the ones we love and I can deal with that. But not for me, not right now. Cause' the woman I love is standing right in front of me and for as long as I live my heart will only belong to her. If you could just consider taking another chance you'll see that I'm not the man you thought I was. Please…" Grissom let a tear caress his cheek as he painfully waited for Sara's decision.

"I'm sorry Grissom." Sara took one last look at him before walking down the hallway, leaving Grissom still in a state of shock at his loss. In mid stride Sara screamed out in pain as she slowly fell to her knees. "Grissom!" Sara yelled out.

"Sara?" Grissom ran over to her as fast as his feet would carry him. She continued to grip her stomach in pain, unable to respond.

"I think I'm in labour." Sara tried to breathe at a steady rate as Grissom took out his cell phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Willows." Catherine sighed into the phone.

"Catherine it's me, Grissom. I don't have time to explain, where are you?"

"Umm I'm at a crime scene in Henderson why?"

"I told you I have no time to explain, Sara is in labour. I'm taking her to the hospital." Grissom announced as he helped Sara to her feet.

"What? Alright, Nick is stuck in traffic he was supposed to take Sara to the airport. I'll tell him to meet you guys there. He's the only one able to go to the hospital, we're jammed with cases. You were released?" Catherine asked trying to take in the new information.

"Yes I was, thanks for visiting me a total of two visits in nine months, it really made me feel wanted." Grissom bitterly retorted.

"Alright I'm sorry Grissom, but I hated you for what you did to Sara and I didn't know of your illness alright? I just looked at the faxed report of your progress today, Ecklie is reinstating you whenever you want to come back and work." Catherine felt slightly guilty for not visiting Grissom in his time of need, however it took her a great deal of time to forgive her former boss.

"Uh huh, right now I'm more worried about Sara." Grissom carefully began to walk her to the elevator.

"Alright I'll let you go then, call me as soon as you hear anything." Grissom heard the dial tone buzz in his ear before he could click the 'off button' on his Nokia.

"You ok?" Grissom held Sara's arm gently trying to support her weight as he pushed the ground level button on the elevator.

"No! I'm in frickin labour!" Sara yelled.

"OK, you can punch me for being uncharacteristically not observant." Grissom smiled as Sara gave him one of her signature glares before punching his arm.

"Now I'm satisfied." Sara exclaimed.

_"Was I too hard on him? He wouldn't be released if he was in danger of hurting me or others." _ Sara thought. Before she could surmise an apology, another shot of pain graced her presence.

"Honey I'm going to get you to the hospital as fast as I can." Grissom guided Sara outside until he realized he did not bring his car.

"Where's your car?" Sara asked.

"I ran here, I didn't want to risk losing you so I avoided traffic." The moonlight lit up the night sky as Grissom's eyes struggled to focus on finding a taxi. He called one over and was relieved when it stopped for them so suddenly. The cab driver must have seen Sara's present condition.

"We need to get to Desert Palms as quickly as possible!" Grissom let Sara get in the car first before sitting beside her in the back. The cab driver increased his speed when he immediately heard Sara's screams get louder and louder.

"Oh man! I don't want to have a baby in this thing, the upholstery will never be the same. How the heck do you get blood out of a car, I don't know!" The African- American cab driver continued to drive above the speed limit hoping that he would not be stuck with a newborn baby in his back seat.

"Actually many police officers tend to keep a case of Coca Cola in their trunks, it removes blood wonderfully. Though, nothing can ever get rid of the trace of blood. Some blood stains can stay on fabric up to 100 years." Grissom announced, causing the taxi driver to produce more questions. Sara may have laughed at the situation if she was not in so much pain.

"Holy crap man, how do you know all that stuff?" The driver asked in astonishment.

"It's my job to know stuff." Grissom smiled as they finally pulled up to the hospital entrance. Grissom ran out of the car and motioned for a nurse to bring a wheelchair. In a matter of seconds Sara was in the wheelchair and Grissom was left with the job of paying the cab driver. After giving the driver the money, he quickly ran to catch up to the nurse who was carrying Sara inside.

"Is she your wife?" The nurse asked.

"No we're not together however I am the father." Grissom felt suddenly proud as the reality kicked in. He was going to be a father.

"Yeah you're defiantly going to be a daddy alright, and from your lady's screams its going to happen fast!" The stressed nurse wheeled Sara in as fast as she could to a maternity ward. Grissom watched as Sara was getting prepped.

"Grissom don't leave!" Sara cried out as the nurse put various sticky circles all over her body to monitor her heart.

"I'm not going anywhere." Grissom grinned. As Sara screamed once more a doctor ran into the room.

"How far along is she?" The doctor asked.

"She's about five seconds away from being a mother Dr." The nurse jumped when Sara clenched her hand hard.

"Grissom before I'm a mother I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I didn't forgive you right away even though I should have known you were fit enough to be around me and our baby." Sara screamed once more as the doctor announced that he could see the baby's head. Grissom watched in fascination as he was about to become a father.

"I'm the one who should be saying sorry and I will everyday for the rest of my life Sara. The only way I can make it up to you is always being there for you and our daughter." Grissom yelled as Sara's screams almost drained out his apology.

"You're not going to be like your father Grissom, you're going to be a great dad. I… love… you." The words Grissom thought he would never hear filled his ear drums. He suddenly felt as light as air as happiness filled his system.

"Sara is it too soon to ask you to marry me?" Grissom asked.

"Right now? Grissom I'm kinda sweaty and in a lot of pain so ask me later." Sara screamed one last time before the doctor helped guide the child from her. Another scream hit the air but this time it was not Sara's. The doctor held up his child for both parents to see.

"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl." The doctor announced before taking the baby and weighing it, wiping it off and dressing it in warm pink clothes. In a matter of moments the doctor gave Sara the baby to hold in her arms. She instinctively rocked it slowly as Grissom approached the two women who were now his entire life.

"You look beautiful." Grissom smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Now you're lying. She's the one who's beautiful." Sara stroked her baby's nose in delight.

"You both are. How come you found out the baby sex before hand?" Grissom wondered.

"I didn't, I just knew." Sara grinned as Grissom let tears of happiness run down his face.

"I didn't think I would have either of you, I thought I would never be able to love you again. You know I would never hurt both of you right?" Grissom stared at Sara frightened at what her answer could be.

"You're the Gil Grissom I fell in love with. You're shy, intelligent, boyishly handsome and incredibly caring. I can see it in your eyes, nothing lies there but love right now." Sara felt her heart swell as she watched Grissom lean down and kiss their child on its head. For the first time their daughter opened her eyes and stared at her father. From that moment on Grissom knew he was going to never let anything happen to either of them. Finally breaking his daughter's stare his eyes locked with Sara's.

"Don't I get a kiss?" Sara whispered as Grissom leaned forward and his lips met with hers. He kissed her with as much love as he held in his heart, he hoped his actions would make Sara believe that he was never going to harm her ever again.

"I forgot how soft your lips were." Sara hoarsely exclaimed.

"What's her name Sara?" Grissom wondered as his finger was grabbed gently by his baby's. Sara looked at Grissom and then looked down at her baby and knew the perfect name right away that could summon up their relationship and their future.

"Faith. We'll call her Faith." Sara held the two most important people in her life, finally knowing that all would work out. Her future and Grissom's was going to be brighter now that there was forgiveness, understanding and above all Faith.

**The End**


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